Shousetsu no Kowai
by Insane-San
Summary: When Kagome releases a powerful seal that had its hold on an equally powerful half demon, he has to obey her every command. Will she help him be free of his curse? Or will she plot against him to seal him away once again? [InuxKag]
1. Page One

_**Insane-san says: **Hey. It's like...Me. So...I thought of this really nice idea...And decided to type a fanfiction. -wink- It's scary and cool...The second chapter will be more natural of course, but for some reason I feel like ya know..This chapter is kind of like...How should I say this...Introductory? I don't know what I'm saying. I think I actually have some verb tense confusion near the start, but I can't put my claw on where it is exactly or how to fix it, so just...Ignore it. -snort- PLEASE review and tell me how you like it. Thanks so much. Oh, and this -heheh- will be an _Inu/Kag_ story. There will also be more spaces in between paragraphs and whatever but I wrote this chapter with no spaces so it was kind of annoying to add spaces in, but I did my best. I know how you people love those spaces...Unless you think it's fine and you I don't need more spaces? Tell me in a review. Thanks._

_Enjoy the story.

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page _**o**_ne.

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It's modern Japan.

Normal high schools, normal houses, mostly normal people. A raven-haired Japanese teen walks the streets of Tokyo daily with her friends. Everyday they do the same things, see the same people, and enjoy gossip. The raven-haired girl is Kagome. She wouldn't give a yen to anyone if they could change her life. She loved her routine activities and all the people she knew. There wasn't anyone in the world that scared her in any way at all. She was brave and smart and sensible. Walking on the same path with three of her best friends one day, Kagome spotted a small bookstore across the street from them. She had never seen it before even though she'd walked that road countless times since she was a child.

Something about that book store caught her attention and she couldn't look away. "Hey guys," She said to them without moving her gaze from the store. "How about we go in there? It looks nice. They might have some nice stuff since it's new." She said with a smile. "I don't think so, Kagome," One of her friends spoke up. "It...Doesn't look new to me at all." Her friends were disturbed by that little book store and had no desire to ever go near it. They wanted to go to the mall like they did every weekend.

"It must be new." Kagome said firmly. "We've never seen if before, have we? We pass those buildings every day on the way back home, don't we?" Her friends glanced at each other and nodded hesitantly. "That shop...Those big buildings were always touching, weren't they...? How could they just...Move apart?" Her friend Eri asked. "Oh come on, guys." Kagome chirped. "It looks kind of nice!" Her friends examined the small store on the other side of that street with distaste. It appeared smashed in between two taller, much cleaner office buildings. It seemed highly out of place on the busy street. Reddish-brown brick made up the outside and shabby wooden boards were nailed messily on the top like weak excuse for a roof. There were two windows on either side of the thin door that were extremely foggy. The words _Book Shoppe_ were barely visible above the door.

"Well then," Kagome said as she strode across the street. "I'll go in and check it out. You guys can come, or wait there." She said. Her friends didn't even have time to speak up before Kagome was opening the door to the shop. She made her way over the threshold, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with curiosity. If there was one thing Kagome was weak to, it was books. She could read a four-hundred page novel in less than a day with ease. "Hello?" She called cheerfully. She was quickly welcomed by a loud grunt of acknowledgment. That being her okay to go in, she walked further into the shop. It was dimly lit and the smoke of incense could be seen floating through the air clearly. The scent of orange blossoms and mist was overpowering and Kagome let out a light cough.

Suddenly, an old man appeared before her. He was short with thin white hair. He was dressed in the robes of a shrine-keeper from long ago. He seemed very unpleasant to Kagome and she found herself avoiding his gaze. "What do you want?" He asked gruffly. Kagome blinked and cupped her hands behind her back. "Umm...I love books. I felt interested when I saw this place so I decided to come inside."

The old man showed the slightest hint of a smile and turned around. "Y' love books, eh?" He asked above a whisper. "What kind?" He snapped over his shoulder. Kagome jumped and cleared her throat. "I...Umm...I love all kinds of books, sir." The old man curled his face into a sneer and glanced her up and down. "I didn't ask that, girl. I asked what kind?" Kagome swallowed heavily and pointed her face to a book shelf a few feet away from her. "I guess I like...Romance novels, like every girl...And horror. Scary stuff. I don't like myster-" The old man made a loud noise in his throat that cut Kagome off. "I didn't ask what you didn't like." He said, bending over.

He rubbed his back with a fist and stared Kagome in the eyes. "Scary stories, you say? I have one you may like. Yes...Follow me." The man turned and walked up a short ramp and set his path for a small black door that hung open on the other side of the room. Kagome wet her lips and walked after him quickly. They reached the black door and the man went inside. Kagome followed him reluctantly, feeling her heart speed up at the sight of the dark room. Two small candles lit the room. They sat on little bamboo plates in the center of the room on the floor. Kagome eyed them suspiciously. "Here we are." The man said, startling Kagome out of her thoughts. "Where is 'here'?" Kagome asked quietly. The man grinned at her. Kagome made a mental note of the old man's broken and missing yellow teeth.

"This is my special book room." Kagome looked around at the walls covered in books. "Special book room?" Kagome echoed. The man nodded with a proud smirk. "The book I recommend for yourself is over here, young girl." Kagome watched as the man moved in a crumpled position for a shelf on the opposite wall. Kagome hadn't noticed a lone shelf on that wall that was empty, save one single book.

When the man reached shakily for the book, Kagome felt the need to run out of the room. _Stop being silly_, she kept telling herself. He finally grabbed the book firmly in his gnarled hand and pulled it from its resting place on the shelf. He moved his wrinkled face towards Kagome. "It has allowed me to remove it from the shelf." He said with one popping eye. Kagome gasped quietly. It may not have been a wise choice to go in that bookstore after all. "It had to be alone on one shelf...Did you notice that?" He asked, licking his thin wrinkled lips. Kagome curled her fingers around themselves in nervousness and nodded slowly. "...Why?" She forced herself to ask.

The man turned his body around so he faced her, his arm in the air, grasping the book. "Why?" He repeated her. "Because whenever I'd come in here, I'd find the other books in shreds on the floor, that's why. Imagine the money I lost!" He screeched with a disgusted smile. Kagome stared at the floor. "Does it frighten you, girl? It frightens me, too. Here," He walked towards her. "Take it." Kagome stared at the book with wonder. What was it about? Who wrote it? Was this man crazy, or was he telling the truth? Questions buzzed through Kagome's head like an angry bee, ready to sting.

Kagome felt her arm moving on its own. She reached up and touched her fingertips to the black swirling spine of the red book. It didn't burn like she thought. It was just a book after all. Kagome felt her courage recovering itself from the fear and she took the book from the old man. "Thank you." She said. The man nodded very fast and dropped his arm to its side as though it were an anvil. "How much?" Kagome asked, regaining her cheerful personality. The man lost his smile and he gazed blankly at the book Kagome now cradled in her slender arms.

"...Nothing for that book...Just...take it." Kagome turned her head to the side in confusion and then nodded. "Thank you very much." She bowed and turned around. "One more thing," The man called in a croaky voice. Kagome glanced over her shoulder and slowed her pace. "Don't...open that thing until you get home. Go somewhere...Quiet. Away from noise." The color drained out of Kagome's face. "Somewhere you can be alone." He hissed eagerly. Kagome turned around and ran for the exit of the bookstore. She clambered through the door and ran across the street, not paying attention to the cars.

She ran past her friends and left them behind on the street to question her sanity. She ran and ran, cradling the book as if it were an ill baby. After much running and panting, Kagome reached her house. She stumbled up the stairs of her old shrine home and ran desperately for her front door. She pushed her weight against the white door and slid her hand over the doorknob. The door gave way and she fell into the threshold.

"Kagome," A calm voice called. "Is that you?" Kagome payed no attention to her mother's voice.

She looked left and to her right, trying to think of a place where she would be alone in quiet. _The well house_, she thought. She backed out of the doorway and slammed it. She dragged her feet through the sand until she reached the small shack. She opened the doors and then slammed them. She pulled a long slab of wood down to lock them and sighed heavily. It was pitch black in that little shack. She jumped down the little steps and sat on top of the roof of the well.

"Now," Kagome said. "I'll start...Reading you." She panted. Kagome gazed upon the cover of the book for quite some time. It was ten inches wide and eleven inches tall. The cover was hard and red with the texture of small scales. There was neither title on the front cover nor an author name on the spine. The spine was black and swirling. Like an evil smoke. The book itself was quite thick. Kagome heard her mother in the distance calling her name, but Kagome didn't feel the need to answer her at all. She waited until she couldn't hear her mother's voice any more to open the book. Her pale nails traced the front cover. She pressed three fingers on the inside of the front cover and pushed it open.

A faint red light emanated from the first page of the book. It lit up the well house in the deep color of blood and Kagome felt its warmth on her face. She moved her fascinated face closer to the first page of the book, ignoring her loose jaw. The page was white and crisp. Deep red shining Kanji symbols trailed down the page angrily. She placed her pointer finger below the first symbol and traced it down as she read.

"Shousetsu no...Kowai." Kagome breathed.

She felt the book began to tremble in her hands. It moved more violently by the second. Kagome stared, terrified, at the book. She couldn't close it. She couldn't stand. The light from the book grew brighter and brighter. It lit the well house with a blinding, clear red light. Kagome could see every spider's web and every crack in the wooden walls. She belted out a scream. A loud, horrified scream that filled her ear drums completely. She felt if she kept screaming then she wouldn't be able to hear her slamming heartbeat.  
That she wouldn't be able to hear the frightening thing coming out of that book. But her scream wouldn't last. Suddenly there was a moment in which it felt time stopped. The pressure was so immense on Kagome's body and ears that she was bent forward. Her chest pressed against her knees and tears spilled from her closed eyelids.

The pressure released her from its clutches and Kagome doubled backwards off of the well. She didn't dare open her eyes. She didn't dare pick herself up from the ground. She didn't dare try to make a sound or even breathe.

Something had come out of that book.

Something Kagome didn't want to see. She didn't want to see at all. She whispered a prayer in her head, afraid that being too loud even in the solitude of her mind would alert the creature. She hissed in a breath through her nose and trembled as she held the book gently in her hands. She heard a yawn. The cracking of joints and a nearly silent laugh. A person had come out of the book. A boy had come out. She heard it in his laugh. Kagome's eyes opened and she held them wide open at the first page of the book. The words were gone. A single page remained. The rest had vanished. She closed her mouth quietly and slowly closed the book. Kagome's heart jumped. A noise. The person was sniffing the air. Sniffing the air for her scent. Kagome knew she didn't have a very long time until something bad happened to her.

The sniffing had stopped but she knew she wasn't out of danger. She felt what it meant to be alive at that moment. What it felt like to be between life and death. She would be saved or she would die. The book had killed her. The love of reading she had had killed her. She knew it inside of herself. _But what if the boy left the well house_, she thought. _What if he made himself disappear? _She felt him, though. She felt him in the room. A surge of something pulsed through Kagome's blood stream and she raised herself up slowly off the cold dirt. She chose life over death. She chose to try her chances at running before giving in to a not-so-bright fate.

She was on her hands and knees. The red book sat abandoned in the dirt, its single page folded against itself. Kagome pulled her fingers into her palms and felt the cool earth underneath her fingernails. She paused a moment before truly thinking about standing. She turned her face up to her left where the well was. Her heart stopped beating.

Golden eyes with thin pupils. The boy was there, on his stomach on top of the well, facing her. His clawed fingers gripped the edge of the well and he was grinning at her. His long white hair flowed around him and his eyes were bright and psychotic. Pointed white dog ears sat unmoving on the top of his head. His fangs were shining even in the darkness of the well house. Kagome couldn't feel any part of her body anymore. She was numb inside and out. She wanted to scream and lash out to defend herself, but her mind had shut down. She wanted to move her face away from his, for they were mere inches apart, but she couldn't.

"Hello, little human." He whispered quickly. Kagome made a quiet noise in the back of her throat and she closed her opened mouth. She tasted sweat and dirt. The boy's yellow eyes were constantly examining her, constantly moving over her. Kagome slowly moved herself back into a sitting position. She sat on her knees. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, covered in dirt. She hardened her gaze and felt her eyes twitch by themselves. The boy lost his smile. "You're the one that released me from that book of _hell_..." He said in a dangerously quiet voice. Kagome's eyes widened and her breathing quickened. She shot a glance towards the locked doors of the well house. The boy's grin returned and he moved his face closer to hers. "I remember you scent." He said. "You're the one the _carried _me here..." Kagome felt a disturbed blush light the bridge of her nose and she tensed her leg muscled. She prepared to run.

Kagome saw the boy's expression grow even more twisted in entertainment. "You could be a jester, human." He said mockingly. "If you entertain me, you could gain something for your putrid existence from a king. You certainly don't seem the kind to do anything else with you life." Kagome lowered her head and drew in a steady stream of air. It was humid and warm. Kagome barely noticed the boy raise himself from the well with his hands.' _He's so fast. It was like I blinked and he was on his hands and knees!_' She thought. "You honestly think you can run and I won't catch you before you even stand?" Kagome's pupils shrank and she tried to steady her twitching lips. "You really think...That you should try to die proudly by running instead of giving in?" He laughed out loud. "Humans are such weak things." He said, grinning. "You think you're so tough there in the _mud_...I'd like to see you that tough when you bleed." He growled.

Kagome slapped her hands to her grey eyes and pushed the tears out as quickly as she could. When she moved them to the ground again, the boy was sitting on his heels behind her. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly with a smirk. "You scared of something? I wonder what it could be...Maybe there's a monster somewhere in this well house." His breath puffed against the back of her head and her hair itched her neck.

"I don't want to die." She said, her voice cracking. Kagome felt his laugh on the back of her head. "Aww...You don't?" He said. He moved his face next to her ear. "I could comfort you if you want...Before you die." He traced his claws down her neck and stopped them at her throat. "...Or not." He muttered. Kagome ripped up her arm and smashed into his face with the back of her fist. She heard him yelp out in shock and what she hoped was pain. She didn't wait for anything. She jumped up with the speed of an elk and jumped into the door. The rotted wood gave way and she broke through. She heard him scream curses at her and she knew that she would be caught. He was the dog and she, the cat. She wouldn't be safe in a tree. Not in that situation. She felt blood flying off of and evaporating from the hand she hit him with. She couldn't tell if it was hers or his.

"_Mama!_" She screeched. If there was ever a cry in the world so desperate from a child to its mother, that would have been it.

She heard the flopping of sandals in front of her and the scraping of sand behind her. She tripped and fell to her knees, covering her head with her arms. The sand puffed out from under her and she gripped her arms tighter around herself. "Kagome!" Her mother screamed. Kagome heard her mother drop her broom. It clattered onto the stone walkway. Kagome could also hear a loud growling coming from behind her. Suddenly she felt the back collar of her white T-shirt be grabbed and she was lifted to her feet. The boy turned her around roughly and switched his grasp to the front collar of her shirt.

Blood covered his face from the nose down and he did not look pleased in any way. Blood dripped steadily from his face onto his arms. "You little wench!" He snarled to her face. She saw him in the sunlight for the first time and felt her mouth open. He was even more intimidating in light than in darkness. He had long-legged and black robe-styled pants on and a shirt to match. It was thinner and more airy looking than a normal robe. The white under-robe was visible and Kagome knew he wasn't just some scrawny guy who would act tough. He must have been so. "You broke my nose." His eyes glowed the look of a predator and Kagome tried to avert her eyes so he wouldn't see her obvious terror. "Mama," She said weakly. "Shut up!" The boy shook her and she was silent. "I'll return the favor and give _you_ a broken nose before I slash you into bird feed!" He snapped. "No!" Kagome's mother screamed. "Let her go!" The boy ignored Kagome's mother completely. He hadn't even glanced up to acknowledge her existence.

The boy held Kagome out with one arm and raised the other. His fist was clenched tightly and shaking with strength that Kagome didn't want to think about. '_This will hurt. This will hurt very much._' She moaned inwardly. "I hope you've prepared yourself." He growled lowly. Kagome closed her eyes and raised her chin. Her mother was running towards them, screaming for him to stop. Kagome heard the rush of air from his speeding arm and waited. She waited. She waited...

Nothing came.

She dared to open her eyes. She saw the boy's furious face and quivering arm. His fist was just centimeters from her face, but it wouldn't move. It was as though some invisible shield had stopped his fist or someone with amazing power had grabbed his arm. The boy's mouth opened and his eyes stared with rage-filled awe at what was happening. "Hah...Ahahah..." He laughed. "This...What is this?" He dropped Kagome to the sand and clenched his fists at his sides. His eyes scanned her for something he couldn't see. His teeth clenched in anger and he tilted his head up. "What is this?" He screamed into the sky. He powered up his leg and kicked to Kagome's stomach. His leg was stopped. He slashed at her. Kicked at her. Picked her up and tried to throw her. All were stopped short.

He began to mumble to himself. Then he ran to the well house. Kagome wobbled to her feet and then ran to her mother's arms. "Come, Kagome, let's go to the police station, alright?" Kagome nodded with a blank look and they both ran to the car. Kagome allowed her mother to believe for a little while that driving away in a car would save them. That the police would be able to save them. Kagome had done something wrong. Something very, very wrong.

She had released a monster into the world. A monster that would kill and destroy. And it was all her fault.

Kagome watched as her mother opened the passenger seat door for her. Kagome stared at her mother's tearful expression and she frowned. "Mama, it won't--"

"Shh." Her mother cut her off. "Get in. Now."

"Human!" The boy screamed from the well house. But her mother had already closed her door. "Human!" She heard him louder than before even from inside the car. Kagome closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her aching stomach. Her mother pushed the key into the keyhole and started the car. Kagome looked out the window. The boy was gone. As soon as they had started driving, the car was tilted to its right side. It was shaken up and down. Kagome's mother panicked and slammed a foot on the gas but the car wouldn't move. Kagome covered her face with her hands and opened the car door. She jumped out and landed awkwardly on her knees. She heard the thump of the car landing on the sand and her mother's gasp.

Kagome stood and slapped her hands on her jeans to get the sand off. "Hn. A smart choice, little human." He said with a sneer. Kagome faced him and didn't look away. The boy held up the book he came out of. "This," He said. He flapped it around in the air in front of Kagome's face. "Where did you get this?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. Kagome narrowed her own eyes. That seemed to have surprised the demon boy. "I got it at a little...Tiny...Unknown bookstore that only I wanted to go into." With each belittling word, the boy's face grew angrier. "Then bring me there! Now! Something's defective here...Don't you see?" He shouted. He threw the book on the ground and kicked it. The scaly red cover's shiny complexion paled in dusty sand.

"Bring me there, now!" He commanded, crossing his arms over his chest. He glared down at her, making her seem like a pathetic rodent. Kagome's eyes burned and she turned around and headed for her shrine steps. "Mama, I'm taking him to the shop." Kagome called without looking over her shoulder. "Kagome, wait! What's happening? Who are you taking? Kagome!" Her mother's voice faded the farther Kagome got down the steps.

Minutes passed. It seemed hours to Kagome. Hours of torture with a murderer tracing her every step. "God...can't you move any faster? You're so slow...Are we going to be there soon?" He whined. Kagome ignored him for the most part. She tried to focus on her goal: Getting that guy to the shop and leaving him there with the old man who took care of his book self before. She ignored the faces of those around her. They were shocked. Some were scared. '_I must be dirty...Blood on my fist, dirt everywhere...I wonder what my hair must look like._' She wondered silently. Kagome stopped at the familiar cross-walk and waited for the man to turn green. She groaned in annoyance inwardly when she heard the dog boy's irritated growl. "Why have we stopped? Keep moving!" He ordered. Kagome glared over her shoulder. "This is a cross-walk. CROSS. WALK. We stop here so the cars have a chance to go." A man standing next to her leaned down. "I know." He said. Kagome stared up at him with a fake smile. "Yeah, I know you do. I was telling him." She nodded her head behind her and pointed back to the boy.

The man stared behind her and then back to her face. Then he looked away quickly. He walked further up to the front of the crowd. Kagome eyed him suspiciously. "Some people are..." She didn't finish her sentence; somehow feeling what she wanted to say was already said in the depths of her mind. She watched the man whisper to a woman next to him. She looked towards Kagome and then quickly looked away. "Battered little thing. I feel sorry..." The rest was too quiet for Kagome to hear. She stared at them and watched their mouths and they glanced back time to time and continued their conversation.

The dog boy behind her began to laugh. Kagome turned around. "What?" She asked stiffly. He stared at her with a grin. Then he pointed his eyes to the two people talking about her. Kagome's face began feeling hot and she turned back around. He could hear everything, probably. It would be very unwise not to mention disgusting for her to ask him what they were saying. The little man turned green and the crowd flowed out into the street. After a bit of walking, Kagome spotted the corner where her and her friends were just that morning. She walked across the street and stepped up to the sidewalk. She sighed unhappily. "Hey," She heard an amused voice behind her that rubbed against her mind like a cheese grater. She tossed her head over her shoulder. "Yes?" She answered. The boy tried to hide his smile from her almost jokingly as if to taunt her. "Those two people..." Kagome's mouth opened slightly. "They've been following. Saying some interesting stuff." He pulled at a thin lock of his silvery hair and smirked over his shoulder.

"Over there, huh?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. The boy's face steadily got more amused. "You wanna know what they're saying? Maybe you'll cry." Kagome snapped her jaw shut and glared at him. Now that she knew he couldn't hurt her, she felt so much safer. She was about to say something rude to him, but something stopped her. She still felt unsure about everything and he still scared her. He scared her a lot. Kagome looked to where the boy's yellow eyes were focused. She could see the top of the man's hat from behind a dumpster. Kagome put her hands on her hips and stared angrily in their direction. "Stop following me!" She shouted across the street." If you've got something to say, get over here and say it to my face, you jerks!" She heard their cries of surprise and she watched them turn and run in the other direction. "You keep on running!" She yelled after them with her hands beside her mouth to focus the loudness of her voice.

She crossed her arms gently and looked at the boy. "Now who's crying?" She said with a smile. Her smile faded when she saw his face. His eyes were shining with some kind of strange humor. Something was funny to him. Kagome didn't see anything that was funny. It seemed to her that the boy thought everything to be amusing. Either that or everything was stupid to him. Kagome swallowed dryly and raised her eyebrows. "Something wrong?" She asked. The corner of his mouth twitched and the raised in a smirk. "I might have assumed you to..." He trailed off and then stopped. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Well...Whatever! The shop's right across the street." Kagome said, staring at him like he was stupid. She walked across the street and stood in front of the shop.

"What a frickin' trash heap." He said with a raised eyebrow. Kagome raised her eyes to him and was about to open the door, but she stopped. She realized how young he looked when he didn't have the evil eyes of someone who was much more mature. He could have been close to her age. "Umm..." His ear twitched lightly at the sound of her voice and he continued to examine the book shop with much more interest than he had let on in his previous statement. "How old are you?" She asked. He was pulled from his thoughts. He glared down at her. "Silence, fool. You don't have permission to ask me questions." Kagome felt her chest grow cold and she shifted her stare to the little door of the shop.

'_Yikes..._' Kagome adjusted the strap of her black sandals and opened the door to the shop.

"Hello?" She called. She stepped over the threshold. '_Whoa, dejavu._' She shook her head and walked further in. She heard the boy snort the scents out of his nose. Kagome refrained from doing the same. "Who's there?" A familiar voice asked in the dimness of the room. "It's...It's me, sir. Ahhh...Well..." Kagome fumbled for words. The old crouching man came into view from the other side of a bookshelf. "Ah, the little girl from..."

If his hand hadn't been shaking on his cane, Kagome would have bet any amount of money that the man had died.

"My God...It's been...!" He rasped and dropped his cane. Kagome had no idea what to do. She wasn't the one who wanted to come. As soon as she got the chance and the boy and the old man were alone somewhere talking, Kagome decided she would leave as soon as she could. "So that's how you look." The boy said, walking passed Kagome. He stood directly in front of the old man and seemed ten feet tall compared to him. "You are..." The man stammered and nearly fell over. "The half demon...The one who...Who...Wh..."

"The one who almost ended the world." The demon boy finished with a satanic grin.

Kagome tripped over her feet backwards. She landed in a dusty chair. The old man was nodding. "Yes...Yes..." He stared up into the boy's face as though he were something far worse than Satan. Kagome watched in horror as the old man trembled and lowered himself to his knees. "Please...Spare my life. I could not release you, though I had tried--"

"Don't lie to me!" The boy snarled furiously. "I'll kill you here and now once you tell me what I wish to know, stupid old man." The man's eyes welled up and he stood with difficulty. He bowed as much as his back would allow and said, "Ask anything of me and I will do as much as I can." The boy nodded with a smug face. "Good. Tell me..." He sat in a sloppy position in a chair by Kagome. "Why I can't kill this wench of a human." Kagome's face burned with anger but she kept herself calm. Her hands were clasped together in nervousness and she hoped there wasn't a way she could be killed by him.

"That is because of the seal, Inuyasha." As soon as that was said, the old man was backhanded onto the ground.

"Don't you ever try to use my name so casually again!" Inuyasha yelled. The old man quivered on the ground as though he were dying. Kagome stood with her hands covering her mouth in shock. "Now tell me _why_ the seal won't let me." He said, cracking the knuckles in his fingers. "What has this girl done to deserve protection from _me_?" He asked. The old man was standing again and shaking profusely. He stabbed his cane into the floorboards and stammered, "The-that is because...Because she is the one...Who released you. It was...Part of the spell." Inuyasha growled and walked closer to the man. To hopefully slow down or stop Inuyasha, the man blurted, "The man who sealed you in the book made it so whoever released you from the book was to be your-your-your...!"

Inuyasha's face was strained and angry. Kagome saw it as the face of someone who was preparing to receive a bullet to the head. "My what?" He screamed.

"Your master!" The man shouted.

Inuyasha's arms dropped and his eyes were wincing. "What...Did you say?" He muttered. The blood had rushed to Kagome's head and she was putting it down between her knees, breathing heavily. "I said...She is to be your master." The old man heaved. "You will do as she says. Until she dies or...You die." Inuyasha fell onto the floor. The man continued, "You will do what she says, when she says...That was...Part of the seal's curse on you." There was a moment's silence. Inuyasha stood up loosely, like a sick doll. More seconds passed. He began to growl deep in his throat. The volume grew and he ran around the store throwing books, breaking apart chairs, breaking up bookshelves and breaking the windows.

Kagome was screaming and covering her head with her arms. "Stop it! Stop!" She screamed. There was silence. Kagome lowered her arms and looked behind her. Inuyasha was in the middle of the room. The smoke of the incense and great clouds of dust filled the air and floated around the room. Rubble surrounded him and Inuyasha was unmoving.

Kagome stared in a strange horrified awe at the scene. She had stopped that psychotic boy just by telling him to. "It really is...?" Kagome pressed her hands to her forehead and felt a fresh wave of confusion consume her. "This is...Too fast." She gasped. She lowered herself to the floor. "What am I gonna to about...School? He'll have to be with me everywhere just so I can tell him not to throw things around?" She said, raking her fingers through her black hair.

"Yes." The old man said.

"Old man..." Inuyasha called in a deep growl. The old man bowed lower. "Y-yes, sir?" Inuyasha turned himself around. "You said that this will wear off if she dies?" The man bowed and nodded. Inuyasha smirked darkly. His yellow eyes glowed brightly in the dark room. "Then I guess she'll have to accidentally get killed."

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_**Insane-san says: **Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a bad night filled with dreams of my fan fiction and...And...POPCORN._

_Please review so I can continue this fic. I really want to. Crits and garbage...Or just tell me that you like it. Please and thank you.

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	2. Page Two

**_Insane-san says: _**_Hi! It's me again. -stupid laugh- I got some nice feedback so I'm gonna keep going. -insert happy dance here- So ehh...If you people have any characters you want in this, you can tell me them in a review and I may (or may not) put them in the story. Another thing, for those of you who don't know, _Shousetsu no Kowai_ means _Scary Story_ in Japanese._

_Enjoy the chapter for it will be as long as the last. _

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page tw_**o**

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The old man pressed his hands harder into his back and shook his head slowly.

"I'm afraid that will take quite a bit of effort..." He coughed hoarsly into the wrinkled palm of his hand and faced away from Inuyasha. Inuyasha walked forward and picked the man off of the floor. The old man gasped out in fear. Inuyasha shook him hard as he spoke. "Why? Why do you say that? A little stumble to my left and I could push her into the road to get hit by one of thosecar things!" He shouted with desperation. The old man wheezed and kicked his feet around, trying to feel for the floor which had left him. "N-N-Now you must understand, Inuy...Ehh...Ehh, sir...! The, the, the seal's magic is--"

"Is what?" Inuyasha screamed in his face. "Part of the spell makes it so you will save her from danger whatever the cost." The old man whimpered. "So while all that garbage happens, I can't even kill someone unless I get the okay from that insect?" Inuyasha snapped. "That is true. Now please let me down!" He rasped. Inuyasha threw him to the floor and paced the room with agitation. Kagome's eyes wandered to the old man and she tried to cover her ears and forget about the cracking noise she heard when he hit the ground.

"No, no, no...That's not right," Inuyasha reasoned quietly to himself. "I shouldn't have to be responsible. She should be responsible for her own life..." He stopped pacing. Suddenly he spun around and shot a clawed finger to where Kagome sat on the floor. "She has done nothing to deserve my protection! I won't sink so low as to protect some _stupid_ human girl! No! I won't!" He snarled. "I'll kill myself! If that's how it's gonna be, I'll frickin' kill myself!" He grabbed the hilt of the sword that was strapped to his side and he pulled it from its sheath. There were bursts of yellow light. The sword went from looking like a normal katana to a massive sword longer and almost wider than his whole body.

The old man pushed himself up with difficulty and shouted, "You cannot do that either! The seal does not permit you to harm yourself or the girl. You are bonded together as if your lives are one." Those words didn't stop Inuyasha from trying. He pushed and pushed but the sword wouldn't go through his chest. Or his neck or his head. Or any part of his body. And no ammount of slashing could get through to Kagome. When all of that was done, Inuyasha faced the truth. He sheathed his sword and stood before Kagome. He glared down at her with immense hatred. Kagome looked up at him, her face twisted like the face of someone who's holding back what they want to say. She felt like her mind was being stabbed with a sword from his gaze. His fangs were clenched and his arms were tensed and shaking. "I..._Hate_ you." He said through his teeth. He walked passed her towards the door and stopped when he reached it.

It started off quietly but his growl grew in volume very quickly. "Why the hell can't I open this door?" He snarled. The old man remained sitting on the floor. It seemed like too much trouble to stand anymore. "Your...Body won't move because your mind is too occupied on the safety of the girl." He said softly. Inuyasha whipped around, seething. "Safety?_ Safety?_" He screamed. "That's the last thing I'm thinking about! I want that girl _dead_, do you hear me? Dead!" Kagome stood and felt tears in her eyes. She crossed her arms for some feeling of being safe and stared at the old man. "Even though he doesn't feel it that much, he wants me safe?" Kagome asked him calmly. The old man looked at her and nodded. "Even though he...Wants you to die. The spell in the seal controls his mind to wish for your protection." He said. Kagome helped him up gently and ignored the aggitated growls and punches on the walls.

"Thank you." The old man murmured. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I'm so...Sorry that this--" The old man cut her off. "No, it's fine. I understand you were very scared a few moments ago. I hope you can get over the shock and try to work this out. It is I who is sorry...I was selfish and thought of my own mental state and didn't worry about anyone else in the world. I was...Tired. Tired of hearing the screeching of his dark powers every single day." He sighed. "I just wanted him to leave. I'm sorry, young lady." Kagome sighed softly and pulled a small chunk of hardend sand from her hair.

"Why are you crap-heads ignoring me?" Inuyasha yelled over to them from the entrance. "This is happening to me. Me! Not you idiots. Tell me how to fix it, old man." The old man shielded his ears from the yelling and sighed deeply. Kagome glared behind herself at Inuyasha. "My name isn't 'crap-head', it's Kagome!" She yelled back at him. Inuyasha tilted his head back slightly and narrowed an eye. "Keh...I wouldn't care if your name was 'crap-head', crap-head. I hate you. _Hate_ you!" He shouted, stomping a foot hard against the wooden floor.

Kagome bent down a little in front of the old man and asked, "Do you need a doctor?" The old man smiled gruffly and shook his head. "It seems I need a doctor every day just for my old age...Just try to learn how to control him. That's what you are meant to do now." He said, bowing his head in a shamed manner. Kagome's eyebrows raised with her frown. "I'll...Try. If that's all I can do." She said quietly. The old man smiled a little and waved a hand. "Well, you should go. I feel like closing up the shop." Kagome glanced around at the gigantic mess Inuyasha had made in his tantrum. The old man noticed and made a noise in his throat. "No, no. You leave. I'll take care of this. I think it's time I retired." He mumbled.

"Remember, young lady," He said just above a whisper. "He is your resposability. Your own. Do not expect to have comfort or help from anyone about this." Kagome stared at him for a moment before looking to the floor. "No help?" Kagome asked softly. The old man forced a smile. "No one can even see him." Kagome's eyes filled and her jaw trembled. '_Those people who followed us..._' She thought. '_And Mama couldn't even--_' She stopped thinking about it and turned around.

The old man apologized once more and watched Kagome walk hesitantly towards Inuyasha's spiteful form. Inuyasha growled louder as she neared him. She avoided his eyes in nervousness and pushed open the door. "We're going now," She forced herself to speak. "Inuyasha." Inuyasha tried punching her head only to be stopped. "Curse you to the deepest, most _torturous_ pits of--"

"We have to cross." Kagome said hurriedly. She walked quickly along the crosswalk and cleared her throat. She glanced back at him and saw him smirking and not walking. "Pl-" She cleared her throat loudly and shook her head to make herself toughen up. "Please follow me." She said. Inuyasha's eyes hardened murderously and he walked towards her. Kagome turned back around and continued down the sidewalk. She was careful not to speak to him the whole way home for fear of being seen as insane. Soon, the steps of the shrine became visible in the distance and Kagome quickened her pace. She mentally prepared herself for what she had to say to her mother. She also remembered what the old man had said. She knew she couldn't count on anyone for that.

"So you really live in this place, huh?" She heard Inuyasha ask in a disgusted tone. Kagome sighed through her nose. "Yes." She answered calmly. "It's been here for years." She said informatively. "Heh, I can tell." Inuyasha said with an arrogant air. Kagome narrowed her heated eyes and walked further up the many steps. "Almost there." Kagome said quietly. "I know. I'm not stupid. I can see for myself." Inuyasha said. "I was telling myself! To give myself some patience." Kagome said loudly. Inuyasha laughed darkly. "Y'know, talking to yourself is a sign of insanity." He said. "Oh,_ yes_. I'm sure you know all about _that_ department, don't you?" Kagome said, losing the patience she had wanted to gain. Inuyasha growled loudly. "Watch it." He said through his growl.

They reached the top of the stairs and Kagome walked forward, her house being her goal. Something stopped her. Her mother was standing by the green van and was talking to three police officers. Her face was wet with tears and she was very fidgety. Kagome stared with an uncertain face and drew a deep, calming breath. She made her way towards her mother. "Mama," She called out. Her mother spun around and stared into the face of her daughter. She let out a relieved laugh. A police officer spotted Kagome quickly and pulled out his gun. "Stay where you are!" He shouted. Inuyasha jumped in front of Kagome and readied his claws in front of himself.

Kagome allowed herself to register what was actually happening. "Stop, that's my daughter! That's my daughter!" Her mother sobbed and ran forward to Kagome. She hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. Inuyasha remained in from of Kagome, eyeing the officer with extreme dislike. "Curse this." He growled quietly. "Curse this all..." Kagome stared at the back of Inuyasha curiously. She shifted her focus to her mother. "Mama, I'm sorry. What's going on?" She asked.

Her mother forced herself away from her daughter and looked lovingly into her eyes. "I was so worried. I called the police and they came right over. I told them everything. About you being lifted into the air, and about the car being moved on its own...I was so terrified for you since you left after all of that happened." Kagome's face darkened and she stared at the police man. He hadn't lowered his gun and was staring at Kagome as though she were something conspicuous.

"Excuse me, Ms. Higurashi, we're going to have to question your daughter." The officer said. Kagome sighed heavily at her knew burden. She knew she'd have to lie. Lie to the police. She cleansed herself of any guilt and lifted a foot to walk forward. Inuyasha threw an arm out in front of Kagome and she placed her foot back in the sand. Kagome stared at him in question and wondered what was going through his mind at the time. "I hate this." He growled quietly. "I hate it so much I want to rip everyone open. I want them dead." He said, staring at the officers with a strange look of hunger. "That's fine, officers. Go on, Kagome." Her mother said kindly.

Kagome clenched her fists and unclenched them numerous times. "It's okay." She said in a low whisper to Inuyasha. "Calm down. They're not going to kill me, they want to question me." Kagome didn't notice the officers and her mother staring at her, trying to listen to what she was saying. Inuyasha felt himself sigh and lower his arms. He winced his piercing eyes and watched Kagome walk towards the police officers. Something grabbed hold of his mind and he followed her.

"So you are...?" A female officer tapped her pen on a notebook. Kagome smiled. "Kagome Higurarshi." Kagome answered. The woman wrote it down. "Hn. What a dumb name." Inuyasha said loudly, putting his shoulders back. Kagome tried to ignore him so she wouldn't look insane. "And how old are you, Kagome?" The woman asked. Kagome smiled weakly. "I'm sixteen." The woman nodded and wrote something down. "Your mother has already answered this for us, but are you or were you involved in drugs, Kagome?"

"Pfft. She's smashin' you." Inuyasha said with amusement. Kagome's face tightened and she said, "No. Nor do I ever want to be involved with them in any way." The woman nodded with raised eyebrows as she wrote on the page of the notebook. "So do you and your mother live alone here in this huge place?" Kagome's face turned angry and she looked around at the three officers. "Yes, we do. Now what's with these questions?" She demanded in a semi-polite manner. One of the officers leaned into the conversation and said, "I'm sorry, miss. It's all procedure. Your mother started telling us about some really weird stuff so we've gotta ask these questions. Please cooperate." He said kindly. Kagome nodded and fixed her shirt. "Okay." She said.

The female officer eyed Kagome up and down and then said, "Before I continue, could you tell me why you're all messed up?" Kagome plastered a fake smile onto her pale-skinned face. "I have a weekend job at an animal clinic. I take care of the dogs there and it can get kind of messy." She said with a playful laugh. The officer showed a smile. "Ah, I see." Kagome's mother searched the back of her daughter with surprise and discomfort. She place her fingers to her mouth and stared. "And the dried blood on your hand?" The officer asked. Kagome tilted her eyebrows saddly and said, "One of the dogs got caught up in a fight and got bitten up pretty bad. I helped a vet carry him into the examining room but I wasn't allowed to go in because I was so dirty." She said simply.

Kagome's eyes started to close in concentration at the feeling of four eyes burning holes into her head. "So what can you say about being lifted up into the air and a car moving?" She asked, lifting her eyes from the paper to look at Kagome. Kagome's eyes widened inoccently. "I was at the clinic. I got home just now. I don't know anything about being lifted into the air or my car moving. Who told you that crazy story?" The officer narrowed her eyes in something like disappointment. She had failed to corner the girl. "Your mother told us."

Kagome gasped. "That explains everything. My mother has been on a pain killer medication every since she fell down the stairs of our shrine. She sometimes hallucinates." All of the officers' mouths opened. They glanced at eachother quickly and then looked over to Kagome's mother. She was horrified. Her hands were trembling over her mouth and her eyes were spilling confusion. "Ka...Gome?" She called shakily. Kagome made an effort to ignore her and shook the officers' hands. "I'm so sorry, really. I hope you can forgive her for making you come down." The officers shook their heads and spoke at the same time about it not being a problem.

They walked down the steps to the shrine and were soon out of site. Kagome's eyes filled with tears and she opened her mouth to reveal her clenching teeth. She smeared the tears out of her eyes and cleared her throat. She grabbed at her stomach in hopes to ease the knotted pain of guilt. Maybe they'd find out she was lying and she'd go to jail for lying to the police. But then Inuyasha would have gone crazy because of the seal and he would beat them up. But then since no one would be able to see him they'd blame Kagome for everything and send her to some lab to be experimented on for some psychic powers. But then Inuyasha would go crazy again and then all the people in the world would eventually be beat up to near death by the murderous demon boy.

Kagome grabed the sides of her head with her hands and let out air through her nose. "I'm sorry, Mama," She said quietly. She didn't dare look at Inuyasha. She didn't dare. She looked at her mother instead. "I had to, Mama. Or they'd think we were both insane." She said, gesturing with her hands in a reasoning fashion. Kagome's mother shook her head and placed both her hands over her mouth. Tears spilled from her eyes. "What got into you? What's wrong with you, Kagome?" Her voice was muffled by her hands. Kagome sighed with hopelessness. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she should say anything at all. "Just leave her." Inuyasha said rudely. "It'll only break her more if you spill everything." Kagome averted her eyes from her mother's face. She knew Inuyasha was right. She was angry to admit it, but he was. '_Still, I should at least give her some kind of explanation..._' She thought.

"Mama, what happened this morning with me and the car...It..." Her mother's eyes squinted with tears and she shook her head. "Mama," Kagome called her and stepped forward. "I just want to give you some kind of comfort about this." She shouted eagerly. Her mother stumbled backwards and sobbed with her hands tight over her mouth. "Don't be a fool." Inuyasha snapped. "Just leave her, I said." He crossed his arms and shot a glare at Kagome's mother. Kagome sighed in defeat. "I know...I just don't want her to--"

"Make herself forget about you because she doesn't want to take responsability for her law-breaking kid?" Inuyasha finished in a light tone. Kagome fingered her pockets and nodded. Inuyasha walked towards Kagome and stopped next to her. He leaned his face closer to hers and the hairs on Kagome's arms stood up. She saw his grin through the corner of her eyes. "You'll get over it." He said. Kagome grimaced and walked to her front door. She didn't have to tell Inuyasha to follow her. That relieved Kagome because she didn't feel like asking him to. Kagome kickd off her shoes and walked up her stairs to get to the second floor. "Oh, close the door, will you, Inuyasha?" She asked, sliding her hand up the rail. Inuyasha shouted several curses before slamming the door shut.

"Thanks." She said automatically once she heard the door slam. Inuyasha stood there with a raised eyebrows. He glanced behind him and looked around. Then back up the stairs. He watched as Kagome hopped around while pulling her socks off. She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her fists and yawned. Inuyasha remained standing at the front door. His head bowed; eyes glaring through his white bangs. His ears flinched backwards when Kagome moved her hands and stared down at him. His eyes swiveled over her face and he showed his fangs. "Would you mind if I...I mean, I'm going to take a shower." She laughed at herself. "Go sit in the kitchen until I come down, okay? Please try not to..." Kagome frowned at the wall for a moment.

'_I wonder if it's right to be saying please? ...Well, I think it is. Just because this has happened doesn't mean I have to treat him baddly...What am I saying! He's a very bad person and I get scared of him. He doesn't deserve to be treated nicely...But then again, I guess I just need to be myself. I don't want to change into some kind of demanding jerk who uses him as a slave._'

"Don't get into trouble is what I'm trying to say. I'll be out in--"

"Just stop talking, creature." Inuyasha said boredly. He sniffed the air and began walking. Kagome blinked down at him until he was out of her sight. '_Hmm. I guess he can find it by the smell of food? ...He'll be okay, I guess._'

After washing all the grime off of her body, Kagome felt so much better. She felt like she could have a nice night then. She had long, dark-purple pajamas on and her wet hair was brushed neatly. She hummed happily for a few moments, forgetting about the demonic boy who waited impatiently down in the kitchen. She opened her window to let the fall breeze in and sucked it in. It calmed her a great deal and she closed her eyes, breathing it in. She pressed her hands onto the windowsill and smiled. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw from her window was the well house. Memories of Inuyasha came back and she was pulled out of her peacful trance.

She walked out of her room and trotted down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she saw that her mother's shoes weren't by the front door. Her mother hadn't come inside. Kagome stared with a lost expression at the floor. She shook her head up and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Her hands traced the walls as she went and she felt a smile tug at her lips.

When she stepped into the entrance of the kitchen, she saw Inuyasha sitting cross-legged on top of the table. He looked half asleep. His golden eyes were dim and nearly closed. His head was resting on his hands and his ears were flopped down. Kagome stopped, a little stunned, and almost felt embarrassed at herself for seeing him in such a state. Inuyasha's nose flinched and his eyes suddenly snapped open. He dropped his arms onto his lap and straightened himself up on the table. There was almost an awkward pause. "Finally." He groaned. "I thought I was gonna die!" Kagome quickly busied herself in the refrigerator. She took out a package of salmon strips and soy sauce. She placed them by the oven and then went to a cabinet and took out some seasonings. "Do you like fish?" She asked as she turned on a burner. She poured some oil on it and began opening the package.

Inuyasha tapped his claws on his face and twitched an eyebrow up boredly. "Sometimes. If it's raw." Kagome stopped opening the package and stared at the fish inside. She looked up and stared at him. "Raw fish?" She asked in a disgusted voice. She squinted an eye and shook her head. "Don't you get sick?" She asked steadily. '_Keep going, Kagome. You have to make it easy to talk to him. You're actually almost having a conversation._' She cheered herself on. "Maybe a weak thing like a human would get sick, but I don't." He glanced down at his claws to examine them for a moment. Kagome smiled a little and massaged two salmon strips with soy sauce over the sink. "So that means you want one raw then?" She asked while giving the salmon strips a few more slaps of soy sauce.

"I don't want any of your food." He said with a sneer. Kagome sighed heavily and brought the fish to the pan. She placed them in the oiled pan. They hissed loudly and steam flew up into the air and disappeared. The hissing died down and Kagome said, "Don't be so stubborn. You said you'd eat fish if it's raw so I know you actually eat." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and curled his lip to show a fang. Kagome walked over to the sink and washed her hands. She pressed a towel against them and walked back to the pan.

Kagome glanced up at him as she shook some seasonings out of a little bottle onto her fish. "You must be a little hungry. You can have some raw if you really don't get sick." She said. She pressed a cork into the glass bottle and picked up a different one. "I said, I don't want any of your food." He spat.

Kagome corked the little glass bottle and placed it on the marble counter. She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the pan and shook it back and forth. The fish hissed loudly. Kagome pondered for a while as she flipped the fish over. "Inuyasha, tell me if you're hungry." A ferocious growl filled the kitchen. It died down to a quiet volume and he said, "Yes." Kagome smiled and nodded. "Okay. Now tell me if you'd like to eat some of this fish." She forced herself to stare into his face which blasted the emotion of hatred towards her. "Yes." He growled. She nodded and flipped her fish again. "If you just tell me straight-up what you want, then you won't have to go through so much, right?" She spoke softly as if speaking to a child. Inuyasha sensed that in her voice and felt a burning anger in his chest.

"I'll do whatever I can to make things harder for you." He said in a low tone. Kagome blinked her eyes in surprise and looked up from the pan. Things had been going so nicely for a second, but then he scared her again. Kagome flipped her fish once more before turning the oven off. Inuyasha saw the look on her face and smirked smugly. Kagome brought a glass plate down from a cabinet above her head and poured her fish onto it. She brought the pan to the sink and poured water on it to cool it off. She allowed her face to be hidden in the steam.

She stared at the wall in front of her with hardened eyes and tried to smooth out the constant mental hurricane that had started up again. '_How am I gonna work this out with school? Tomorrow's Monday and I have to do so much with my friends just like every Monday...This guy's gonna mess my life up. Heck, he already has._' Kagome wiped her face with a towel and dried her hands. "I'll get yours now, okay?" She was given no reply. She grabbed two strips of salmon with chop-sticks and draped them gently onto a glass plate.

She carried the plate to the table and set it down next to Inuyasha. She steadied her breathing and forced herself to get a grip. "There you go. She set the chop-sticks down beside the plate and walked back over to the oven to get her own dinner. She stopped before she lifted it from the counter. "Oh, I almost forgot. Do you want anything to drink?" She looked over at him. The salmon on his plate was gone and the chop-sticks were untouched beside the plate. He stretched his arms out and jumped from the table. Then he walked out of the kitchen. Kagome stared with a strange sort of impressed face at the empty plate. "I guess that's a no." She said dumbfoundedly.

She lifted her plate and walked to the table. She knelt down sloppily on the seating pad, said a quick blessing, and began to eat her dinner. Alone. As many people in the world do. Kagome was used to it. Sometimes she'd eat dinner with her friends, while other times her mother would eat dinner with her own friends and Kagome would eat alone. It was even worse this time, however, because Kagome's mother wasn't out with friends and there certainly wasn't someone to be considered a friend to keep her company.

During her time alone with her food, Kagome thought more on the matter of school with Inuyasha. '_It'll be really tough. I hope everything works out. I'll get to do the usual stuff with my friends, hopefully...All it takes is for me to say "Follow me, Inuyasha, and don't speak until we get through the front door of my house!"_' Kagome frowned and sighed. "I guess it won't be that simple." She drawled saddly. She finished her fish and took a gulp of water. She placed the hand-sized cup on the table and stared out the window to her right with a distant expression.

She snapped from her moment of mental peace. She felt like someone was watching her. She turned her head straight. Nearly ten feet in front of her was the entrance way to the reading room. Inuyasha was crouched on the floor behind the wall. Kagome could only see part of his face one of his knees. His yellow eye glowed in the pitch black of the reading room. His eye widened upon seeing her looking at him. His lip curled back in a sneer and he disappeared into the room with a sharp growl. Kagome felt herself grin. Then it faded. Her face reddened and she swallowed lightly. She stood and grabbed her dishes. She loaded them into the dishwasher and rubbed her shoulder with a yawn. She glanced at the clock. '_Almost ten...There's school tomorrow and I've had...Such...A big day._' She spaced out at one of the sliding doors. '_I really want to go to sleep. What's going to happen with Inuyasha? I'd better find him and talk to him._'

Kagome adjusted the collar of her pajamas and walked to the reading room. She went inside and switched on the light. Inuyasha was crouching next to a comfy-looking red arm-chair. He glared up at her with dislike. "Hey, umm...I'm going to go to sleep now."

"Hn." Was her reply. Kagome bit back a yawn. "So, you can sleep wherever you want. Don't leave the house, please, and don't...Hurt anyone." Kagome said tiredly. She stared at him and wondered if she had done a good job. Inuyasha spit on the floor and then licked his fang. Kagome's mouth opened in disgust. "Hey, don't spit on the floor! That's so gross!" Kagome eyed the rug that Inuyasha had spit on. She looked away, feeling sick. "Oh, come on. It'sjust a little spit." He drawled with a smirk.

Kagome turned around with a heavy sigh and turned off the light. "Good night." She said as she walked away. She didn't realize that saying something so simple could stun someone so much.

Kagome reached her white door. She traced her fingers along the petals of a sakura flower that was painted by her mother years and years ago. She opened the door and left it open a little. She never slept witht he door all the way closed. If something happened outside of her room, she wanted to hear it.

Kagome placed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and went to her bathroom to brush her teeth. She stared searchingly at her reflection while she scraped the bristles along her straight teeth. '_I am no one special. Why did this have to happen to me? Why not someone else? Was this meant to happen? I've heard people say that there's no such thing as coincidence, and that there is only neccesity...I've never given it much thought. Maybe it's true._' She spit into the sink and rinsed her brush off quickly.

When she had finished in the bathroom, she walked out into her bedroom. She fell into her bed and pulled her sakura patterned covers over her body. She closed her eyes and pulled the string of her white lamp. The light of her room disappeared and she was covered in the light of the moon. She felt the autumn breeze flow through her open window and smother her. She sighed with a small smile and fell into a deep, calmed sleep.

When she awoke, sunlight was blasting into her eyes. She squinted and slammed her pillow over her face. A little voice in her head reminded her of school. She removed the pillow and turned her head over to her alarm clock. She woke up two minutes before the alarm was set to go off. She turned it off and sat up with a large stretch. She heard the singing of birds from outside and cars rushing by. She felt so high up whenever she looked out her window. She pushed the covers off and stood up. Before she went to take a shower, something caught her eye. She looked over by her door and noticed it was wide open. She blinked and a strange sort of horror rushed through her body. She walked to the foot of her bed and stopped. Sprawled out in front of her opened door was a sleeping Inuyasha.

She almost screamed at the sight of him, but she pushed it down before it came out. She smiled and walked into her bathroom. She closed the door and locked it.

Her shower was quick. She wrapped a pink towel around her body and brushed her teeth. '_Here goes my day._' She thought to herself. It was all or nothing. She breathed in steamy warm air and had a mental image of all of her friends laughing at her at school. She grabbed another pink towel off the rack and dried her hair quickly with it. She shook her head around and opened the bathroom door. She walked out. The first thing she saw was a horrified Inuyasha staring right at her. Kagome's face took on the same shape as his and she screamed louder than she ever had in her life. She heard Inuyasha's scream over her own. And that went on for quite a while before Inuyasha finally came to his senses and leapt out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Kagome ran forward and slammed her door. She leaned against it with an exasperated sigh. She locked it and ran to her window. She did the same to it. She pulled the curtains down and dressed herself in her school uniform as fast as she could. She felt an overwhelming need to be dressed. When she looked in the mirror to brush her raven hair, she still felt naked. She noticed for the first time how truly short her green skirt was. Her face turned red at the sight of it and her eyebrows tightened. "Oh my God..." She said quietly. "I can't go out like this with Inuyasha. No..." She fingered the hem of her skirt. "No way! Not after he...He saw me in just a..." She slapped her hands on her cheeks to hide her blush. She tugged at her long sleeves and compared them to her skirt. She grabbed her hairbrush off her vanity table and sat on her bed. She faced the wall so she couldn't see her reflection in the mirror.

She brushed her hair out with displeasing thoughts in her head. When she finished, she slipped her long white socks on and pulled her silver watch over her hand. She then prepared herself to walk out of the room and face Inuyasha. It would be better if her mother was home, and she hoped that she was.

Kagome stomped down the stairs and decided to skip breakfast. She had lost her appetite. She walked out into the kitchen and saw no sign of her mother. '_Come on, mom...Why don't you just come home and admit that it was best for me to say all of that?_' Kagome ran to the front door, slipping along the wooden floor a little as she went. She pulled on her brown shoes and stood silently with her hand on the doorknob for a moment. She pressed her forehead into the door harder and harder while closing her eyes tightly. She pushed herself off of the door and yelled, "Inuyasha, come with me to school now." She heard several low curses from far away and soon Inuyasha was in sight. Kagome looked away from his face and opened the door.

Kagome ran down the steps of the shrine. She listened to Inuyasha's black yukata flapping in the wind as he ran down the steps behind her. She jumped off the bottom step and ran to the bus stop. She stopped and sat on the bench, steadying her breathing through her nose. She flicked a glance at Inuyasha. He stood next to the bench with an annoyed expression. His eyes were darting everywhere. People walking, cars driving, planes flying, dogs running. Kagome had never truly sat down and looked at everything so closely. So much went on in just a few minutes and Inuyasha was taking every second in with precise detail.

Kagome took a brave glance down at her skirt and looked away with heated cheeks. '_This is so bad._' She groaned to herself. She shook back her sleeve and check her watch. '_The bus'll be here soon. I guess I just have to wait._'

A few minutes seemed like such a long time to the poor dreading Kagome. She had no idea how her day was going to go. She desperately wanted to find a routine to slip into with Inuyasha. She knew he couldn't stay home because of the spell. The spell made it so he had to be near enough to keep an eye on her. Kagome thought about how he slept on the floor. '_It must have been against his will just like everything else is._' She looked up at him with a tinge of guilt in her gut. '_Don't feel guilt for a guy who wants you dead, Kagome._' She reprimanded herself and looked down the street. The bus was coming towards them. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in annoyance and walked closer to Kagome. Kagome could hear the curses he was spitting about her and the seal.

The bus stopped in front of them and the door opened. Inuyasha's claws were flexing dangerously and he was eyeing the bus. "It's okay, Inuyasha, it's just a bigger version of a car." She whispered quickly. She stepped up into the bus. Inuyasha followed. The bus driver closed the doors and began to drive again. Kagome spotted her eagerly wavingfriends . She grinned hugely at them and waved back. She made her way towards them. Suddenly, she tripped and slapped her hands onto the floor to catch herself. She stood up quickly with a face burning with embarrassment and anger. She was looking for the person who had tripped her, but she didn't have to look for long Inuyasha was aiming his fist at a boy from her class who often teased her. "You little--"

"Inuyasha, stop!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha looked over at her and lowered his arm. Kagome gasped quietly and looked around the bus. Everyone, including the bus driver, was staring at her.Kagome's whole face grew hot and she stepped quickly to the back of the bus. She pushed herself against the wall in the farthest seat to the left. Her fingers clenched together and she stared out the window uncomfortably. Inuyasha sat on the floor in the middle of the bus next to the seat of the boy who tripped her. He was glaring at him and mouthing curses to Kagome at the same time. "Hey, Kagome, what was that?" Her friend Ayumi asked, leaning over her Eri. "Yeah," Yuka said. "Why'd you call for the evil demon guy?" She asked. Kagome's face went pale and she looked over at Yuka.

"Yuka...You know about...?" Yuka laughed. "Everyone knows about _that_ evil guy. He practically destroyed the world!" She said. Kagome could almost feel Inuyasha's grin against her flesh. "But someone stronger than him sealed him up or something. Personally, I think he's still alive somewhere, biding his time until..."

"Oooh, Yuka! Stop it! You're freaking me out!" Eri said, moving in her seat. "Anyways, Kagome," Ayumi cut into the conversation. "What was that yesterday with the book store? I mean...What happened?" She asked darkly. Her friends leand closer. "Yeah..." They said together. Kagome scratched the side of her face. "Well, the book store guy scared me a little after I got a book. He was a creepy old man, ya know?" Luckily, her friends asked no further questions. Instead, they made up their own stories about the 'evil book shop owner' and his motives.

It seemed only a few seconds before the bus pulled up into the school grounds. The doors opened and the highschoolers poored out. Inuyasha stood and jumped into an empty seat, growling irritatedly. Inuyasha stole a glance at Kagome before watching the teenagers rush out of the bus.

"Well," Kagome said softly. "Here goes _something_."

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **I have no idea what to say. Review this chapter. Like I said in my earlier A/N, tell me what characters would be good. I thought about making the teasing guy Koga but then I was like, 'OMG IT SHOULD BE LIKE, HOJO!' So tell me what you think, mmkay? Please review. I'm very glad that people like it. Have a nice day! Or night! Or whatever! -wave-

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	3. Page Three

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Insane-san says: **As I said in my other fanfiction, every Thursday is update fanfic day. So this will be up, then I'll update Nefarious, then Peacock Feathers, then this one again. So that's one update a week out of my three running fanfictions. Nefarious will probably end first. I don't plan to make it long. I actually might take a break from Nefarious untill this one ends..Maybe. I feel like I have too much to do, so..heh._

_ This one, however, is going to go for a while. I plan to do some pretty fun stuff with this one. I explained my huge gap in updates in Peacock Feathers._

_If you don't read Peacock Feathers and you want to know why I was gone for so long, just go and check out the latest chapter of Peacock Feathers. I suppose that'll give you a good excuse to read and review that fanfiction if you haven't already checked it out. _

_Another thing, I made a goal to have each chapter be 6,000 words or more. This one is over 7,000. I'm proud. -grin- _

_I wrote this chapter with Coheed and Cambria blaring, so it should be good. _

_Thanks for your support, guys. I'll see you next Thursday!  
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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page Three_

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Kagome was first off the bus.

She jumped from her seat and leapt forward with nearly the same speed she had when she ran from the well house. Inuyasha wasn't long to follow her. Kagome left her friends to complain in the back of the bus. The school steps were very soon at Kagome's feet. She didn't pause a second as she climbed them to the door. Her breath came out in puffs. She moved quickly through the hall. Inuyasha wondered if she was like that every time she went to school. So swift. Knowing exactly where she was going and why. Her determination was strange to him.

"We're lucky we're early," Kagome said, entering her first classroom. Inuyasha scoffed. "_We_?"

"Yes, _we_." She said. "You're with me, aren't you?" Inuyasha glared silently at the back of her head. "_You_ care. _I_ don't." He said. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Anyway, my friends will probably be in here in a matter of seconds. So...Don't say anything to them and stay next to me, okay?" Inuyasha's fangs gripped his lower lip and he sat on Kagome's left next to her desk. "Friends?" He said with a quiet chuckle. Kagome glanced at him and then returned her grey eyes to her blue pen. His smirk of psychotic amusement dug into her. "You don't have friends. There is no such thing as a _friend_."

Kagome slammed her pen against her desk and stared down at him. His eyes swiveled over her face. "What kind of _twisted_ logic were you raised on?" She asked. Inuyasha smiled when the word _twisted_ left her lips. Kagome continued. "Without friends in the world, do you think people could even live? Sure, some people don't have them, but those people get friends sometime in their lives! A friend is someone you talk to every day. Someone you go places with. Someone who's right there when you have a problem. The point is, humans need other humans. Without friends, people would go mad with loneliness!"

Her eyes widened and her mouth was left hanging open when he started laughing. "If all that's true, then I'm your friend, aren't I? That's funny...That is so _funny_!" He laughed louder. Kagome straightened herself up in defense. She couldn't speak though she tried. How could he think that? She explained a friend clear enough for someone who didn't believe in friendship. "You're not a friend!" She whispered, feeling offended. Kids were in the hall by then. She could hear them and didn't want to be heard. Inuyasha flicked his eyes to meet hers. Kagome was paralyzed instantly. "Of course I'm not." He said quietly. He broke his freezing stare and flicked his slitted pupils down to his claws.

Kagome breathed again and sighed tightly with her mouth closed. "Kagome," She heard loudly. The voice matched up to her friend Ayumi. "I knew I'd find you here!" Her friend bounced up to her and took a seat beside her. Unfortunately for Kagome, that meant she was right next to her _other_ _friend_, Inuyasha.

"Eri and Yuka are one their way. They keep saying stuff about how you're love-struck or you're in some kind of teenage family crisis. But don't worry Kagome, I don't think that way." She smiled warmly at Kagome and reached her hand over Inuyasha's head to touch Kagome's shoulder. Inuyasha's ears twitched and his lips curled back into a silent snarl.

A thin bead of sweat rolled down the side of Kagome's face and she forced a smile. "Oh, you don't?" She asked lightly. Ayumi shook her head, her black hair swishing around her round face. "No, no! I think there's something dark going on here...Something..." She leaned closer to Kagome, closing even more space between them and Inuyasha. A vein swelled on Inuyasha's temple and a rageful scream begged its release from his chest.

"Something...Paranormal." Her friend whispered.

The hair shot up on Kagome's whole upper-torso and she quickly shifted her frightened gaze to the view outside the window. "You and your ghosts, Ayumi..." She giggled. Inuyasha suddenly yelled out, "Oh, for the LOVE of--!" But Kagome slammed her hand over his face. Inuyasha was still. Kagome was still. Ayumi stared at the scene with a raised eyebrow. Kagome had just shot her hand out into the air. Minutes passed in stiff silence. Kagome slowly removed her hand from his face. She placed it on her desk and sat up straight. She cleared her throat quietly. Inuyasha's eyes were closed. His arms were stiff at his sides. He sat there with a wincing face, counting without sound.

"Twelve-dead-bodies...thirteen-dead-bodies...fifteen-dead-bodies..." The classroom was then full of students. Kagome picked at her fingernails and swallowed constantly. '_I'm _so_ going to need some kind of anxiety medication for this..._' She worried to herself. There was a loud rap on the chalk board and the room fell silent.

The first class began.

* * *

'_Lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch!_' Kagome chanted in her mind. She jammed her bookbag into her locker. Punching it, pushing it. Then she slapped the door shut. "Hey, Kagome." She heard. She gasped and looked up to where the door of her locker was before she closed it. She sighed heavily and pressed a hand to hear heart. "Jeez, Hojo...You scared me." 

Kagome heard a shocked and disgusted, "Ugh!" She glanced over her shoulder. Inuyasha stood, with his burning golden eyes wide. "HE scared you? _HIM_? A nasty human boy?" Hojo looked past Kagome to look for what she had been staring at, but couldn't find anything of interest. "So," He drawled. He fixed his eyes on her again. "Wanna eat lunch together?" He grinned hugely and waited for her reply. Kagome closed her eyes and forced a smile. "Ah..Ahahahah...Umm..." Hojo moved closer. "_Well_?" Kagome was taken by suprise from his sudden movement and went stumbling backwards. She tripped and fell on Inuyasha, causing Inuyasha to fall on the floor with her.

Hard.

"You blundering IDIOT! Can't you watch where you're GOING?" He screamed. "Get off me!" He pushed her away. "Ah, sorry, sorry!" Kagome gasped out, waving her hands. She found her balance and stood back up. "Sorry!" She blushed in embarrassment and scratched her forehead in an attempt to hide her face. "Oh, don't apologize." Hojo said. "FEH!" Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Saying sorry is for idiots like you who can't make up for their mistakes."

Kagome clenched her fists and turned around to face Hojo. Fighting with Inuyasha was _not_ something she wanted to do in public.

"Uh, I...Don't think I can eat lunch with you today. I've got..." She paused and thought desperately for an excuse. "Something wrong?" Hojo asked. "Yeah, her brain! That's what's wrong." Inuyasha said with an aimed glare at Hojo. "Yes!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha's mouth opened and his arms came uncrossed. "Wha...?" He blinked and gaped at Kagome. Hojo raised his eyebrows. "My brain! That is...My head! My head hurts really, really bad. I uhh...I have to go to the infirmary and stuff. So you'd be better off eating without me." She laughed lightly and walked quickly in the direction of the infirmary. "See you later!"

She was gone in seconds.

"What a strange girl..." Hojo muttered. He flipped a coin and caught it. "Heads!" He opened his hand. "Aww...I wanted to wait for her to get out, too...Oh, well. I'll get you later, Kagome." He grinned over his shoulder and walked towards the school doors.

"Not if you're dead." Inuyasha said darkly.

* * *

"A headache, ah?" The nurse felt Kagome's head. "No fever, no signs of illness...You do seem pretty flustered, though. Ah, I guess you can stay here for a bit. Just a quick rest." Kagome sighed with relief and walked to one of the infirmary beds. She pulled back the curtain with a smile on her face. She suddenly cried out but cut it off with her hand. Inuyasha was sitting on the bed rotating a large syringe over his clawed fingers.

"Everything okay?" The nurse asked carefully. Kagome's hand tightened around the curtain of the bed. "Yes! Everything's fine!" She called over her shoulder. She walked up to the bed and closed the curtain. "What do you think you're _doing_?" She hissed. Inuyasha glanced up through his bangs uncaringly and continued to roll the syringe around in his hands. Kagome noticed the syringe and felt a weight drop from her chest when she saw that it was empty. "What am I doing?" Inuyasha echoed her. "Whatever the hell I want." He smirked and threw the syringe over the curtain rod. Kagome held her breath and listened to it hit the floor on the other side of the curtains. "Now, what's this here?" She heard the nurse ask.

The nurse gave a grunt as she bent over to pick up the syringe. "Why are you messin' around in there?" She huffed. Kagome panicked. Inuyasha chuckled at her dismay. If he couldn't torment the world like the old days, he woudl torment her to the best of his abilities. He'd make sure to find loop-holes and spaces in-between the blasted curse.

The nurse drew near to the curtains. Suddenly Kagome's eyes locked with Inuyasha's. Inuyasha's ears flopped backwards and the smile was wiped from his face. Kagome bowled into Inuyasha and covered herself with the white sheets. She held her eyes shut and tried to steady her breathing. The curtains ripped open. "Sleeping...?" The nurse wondered alloud. She couldn't see Inuyasha trying to jerk his arms and leg out from underneath Kagome's body. Nor could she hear his angry demands that she get up and go die somewhere.

The nurse quietly closed the curtains and massaged her temples, wondering why she kept that job for so long. "Syringe rain?" She sighed. She left the office for her lunch break.

Kagome sucked in a large ammount of air and pushed herself up from the bed. Inuyasha was sent flying backwards from the sudden release of his arms. "Oh, man! That was so close..." Kagome shuddered. She wrapped her arms around herself and laughed quietly. "Close to what?" Inuyasha snapped, still offended at what had happened.  
"What was she gonna do, dry-syringe us to death? Well...Dry-syringe _you_." He added with a smirk. Kagome stared down at him and said, "For your information, a shot with an empty syringe can kill you."

The smirk fell from Inuyasha's face and he closed his mouth. Kagome smiled. "No joke."

She sighed and stretched her arms forward. "Well," She ended her stretch. "Now we've just gotta wait a few minutes untill Hojo's in the clear." She sat on the flat little bed and took out a medical book from the shelf behind her. She opened it to a random page and read. "That idiotic human boy scares you that much?" Inuyasha sneered and crossed his legs. "No, it's not like that." She said without looking down from the book. "I just...It's the kind of thing I don't really like to handle." She closed the book and looked at his cross-legged form on the floor.

"You kind of understand what I'm saying?" She raised one of her eyebrows hopefully. Inuyasha cracked the knuckles in his right fingers and said, "Sure, I guess...Like when someone stupid picks death-matches with you but they're so weak you don't wanna take the time?"

Silence.

"That's one way to put it." Kagome said as she stood up. "Let's go." Inuyasha stood up from the floor and followed her out of the infirmary.

* * *

"Kagome!"

Kagome groaned and walked a little slower towards her favorite lunch spot in the school yard. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi soon stood around Kagome. "We heard you declined Hojo's offer." Eri piped. "Yeah, well-" Ayumi cut Kagome off. "That wasn't nice, you know. He really likes you." She said. Yuka topped it all off. "Any girl in the school would just about faint if Hojo asked one of them to eat lunch with him...He's the cutest guy in school, right?"

Kagome's eyes twitched when she heard Inuyasha mimicking their annoying tones in the background.

"Guys, guys, come on...I ehh...Had..." Kagome's mind raced for the illness in which she excused herself from Hojo's lunch offer. She couldn't remember. "What was it?" She asked Inuyasha. Her eyes snapped open when she realized that she had voiced the question alloud to a boy that only she could see. "Stomach cancer." Inuyasha said quietly in her ear.

"Stomach cancer!" She shouted and shot her finger into the air. "Stomach cancer?" Her friends chorused loudly. Kagome's mouth twitched and her pupils shrunk visibly. "Stomach cancer _questions_." She said, laughing obnoxiously. She ignored Inuyasha's insane snickerings coming from behind her. "Oh!" They all shouted. And they laughed. Inuyasha's laughter grew more frightening and Kagome said, "Stop laughing." He stopped. But so did all of her friends. "Jeez, Kagome...You don't have to be so stingy."

"Yeah, don't be so stingy." Inuyasha said glaring down at her. Kagome grit her teeth and put on a fake smile. She glanced quickly at Inuyasha and said, "Follow me, okay?" Then she looked back at her friends and waved for them to come as if the command was for them. '_This is so hard to master._' She said to herself. They came to the side of the school and they sat with their backs to the wall. It was the biggest spot of shade in the whole school yard, and nobody went there.

"Well then, Eri?" Yuka placed her hands and her knees and smiled at Eri. Eri blinked. "What?" She said, confused. Yuka closed her eyes and a sort of strange smile came upon her lips. "It was your turn to make the group lunch, wasn't it?" She asked. Her stomach growled loudly. "I know you get crabby when you're hungry, but don't take it out on Eri." Kagome said with a mature face. Eri looked at Kagome. "It wasn't my turn to make the lunch. It was yours." She pointed at Kagome. The mature face that Kagome had on transformed into the shocked face of a teenage girl. "It was?" She blurted out.

Yuka's hands turned into clenched and shaking fists. Her head tilted shakily to the side and her smile widened. "You forgot?" She asked lightly. Kagome pulled at a lock of her raven hair and thought, '_You would've forgotten too, if you were in my situation..._'

Suddenly Ayumi sprung up into a standing position. "I know!" She shouted. Everyone looked up at her. She grinned mischeviously at them and narrowed her eyes. "We can go ask Hojo for some food. To make up for Kagome's being late! See?" She giggle maddly. All except Kagome and, of course, Inuyasha, stood up and huddled around, giggling.

Inuyasha mocked their giggling and then spit on the grass. Kagome gasped. "I thought I said no spitting!" Her friends stopped their twitterings and looked down at her with raised eyebrows. "Ha-ha." Inuyasha smirked at her. "You said '_no spitting on the floor_,'" He made sure to make her sound as stupid as possible. "But you didn't say anything about grass." Before she could deal with him, her attention was turned to her friends. The horror washed over her. "Ka...gome?" Eri ventured. "Are you feeling well?" Kagome stood up stiffly. "Yes..." She answered slowly. They stared.

"How about that lunch, then?" Yuka said. They nodded and walked off, murmuring to eachother as they passed Kagome.

Kagome stared at the grass for a while. The tips of the blades twitched in the breeze. The trees made calming noises as their branches were tossled in the wind. The wind rushed along the side of the school and covered her. Her eyes lost their spark for a moment and she simply stood there as if she was waiting to be blown away. Inuyasha spit on the ground again to taunt her. He glared evilly at her back when she gave no sign of recognition.

Kagome lifted her head and looked into his face. His pupils flattened and his eyebrows knitted together. Her emotions flooded back into her eyes and she looked around. "Oh, lunch!" She ran to the front of the school and turned the corner, out of Inuyasha's sight.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed themselves slowly as he thought. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Keh." Then he followed her.

"So you finally made it, huh?" Hojo yelled to Kagome as she neared the group. There were several other students surrounding Hojo. He really did seem to be the most popular one to hang around with at lunch. "Have a seat!" He slapped his hand on the grass next to him. Kagome reached the outer ring of teens and stood there to catch her breath silently. She looked over her shoulder and saw Inuyasha taking his own good time to get there. He watched her with steady eyes. Kagome looked away quickly and stared at her shoes. '_Scary..._'

The other kids around Hojo moved aside in annoyance so Kagome could get through easily. Kagome still stood in place. "Hey," Kagome snapped away from her thoughts and looked at Hojo. "Come and sit down." Ayumi suddenly laughed in such a high-pitched tone that Kagome visibly winced. As did many of the other students. "She's been a space cadet _all_ day." She shoveled rice into her mouth.

"Is that so?" Hojo said. He burst out laughing. Every other student surrounding him followed his example.

Kagome's face flushed. She surprised herself. Disgusted herself, even, at how she just stood there and let herself be laughed at. Her discomfort flushed out of her body in waves. Inuyasha's head pulsed in a strange kind of pain and he looked up.

"Just come sit down." Hojo said. He raked his fingers through his hair quickly and stared at her. Kagome raised her leg to move forward, feeling the full pressure of everyone's stares. "Keh," She heard. "So you let that _idiot _boss you around, but you don't listen to a word I say? Witch." Kagome's foot hit the grass and she remained standing where she was. "It's not because you just don't wanna _deal_ with it. It's because you're lazy."

'_He's right!_' She gasped in her mind. '_I'd never admit that outloud, but..._'

Hojo stood up. "Kagome, come on. I thought you were gonna eat lunch with me." His voice was clear and calculating. Manipulating. He was using the crowd to suffocate Kagome and bring her to him. By this time, Inuyasha had fully decided that he hated Hojo. Completely. It wasn't that idiot boy's job to make Kagome suffer, it was his! No one hated Kagome more than him so he wasn't going to allow _anyone_ the joy of bullying her and making her scared. He could make her shrink down with just one look. What could this boy do?

With each troubled flip of Kagome's heart, Inuyasha's head pulsed harder. '_What is this...?_' He growled to himself in question.

Hojo took a few steps forward to see if maybe then she would come. She remained still. Hojo's patience ran out and he tried to smile and seem inviting. "Higurashi, hahaha...Haven't you made up your mind?" Everyone was now just concentrating on their lunch. They didn't care about Kagome unless she sat down next to their idol, Hojo.

Hojo moved towards her through the sea of students. If he took her arm, she would have to come. He admitted to himself that she did seem lost in her thoughts whenever he saw her that day. Kagome looked up and realized that he was coming towards her. Her eyes widened and she raised her hand as a shield. Her heart slammed in her chest and she felt the hot blood pounding in her ears.

Kagome's eyes closed on reflex. A loud slamming kind of sound rung through her ears. Swift and hard. It was like the air exploded.

Hojo didn't even get three feet in front of Kagome.

She felt something splatter against her shirt and a sucking wind in front of her. She barely heard Hojo's quiet gasp.

Kagome opened her eyes. Inuyasha stood in front of her with his left arm raised in the shape of a C. His fist was tightened to the max. Blood splatters dotted Kagome's shirt. Hojo was at the far end of the crowd. He sat crumpled together. Blood literally trickled from his mouth like a quiet fountain. He was unconscience. Inuyasha lowered his arm to his side. "Tsk! Dangit!" He yelled with raised eyebrows. "If I hadn't tripped on that fat chick, I would've crushed his skull...Next time, I guess." He cracked his shoulder and smirked down at Kagome, almost waiting for her to say, "WOAH! You're _crazy_ awesome!"

Instead, she grabbed his arm and led him away from the screaming crowd. The whole school yard was in a complete uproar, rushing towards the scene. "We need to leave." She bubbled out in panic. "Get off!" Inuyasha snapped. He tried to rip his arm away from her. "Stop struggling!" She whispered. He stopped and growled loudly. "Why did you do that?" She whispered and wiped sweat from the side of her face with her free hand. They were out of the parking lot then. "As if that's not obvious." He said carelessly.

Kagome's mind went blank when she couldn't think of any obvious reason. Inuyasha sneered. "The seal, idiot! The magic from the seal. What other reason is there?" He shouted in irritation. Kagome jerked aroud a corner and said, "Oh, oh, I get it...I didn't remember for a second." She pulled on a lock of her hair and laughed in a stupid fashion. Inuyasha cussed under his breath at his great misfortune in ending up with such a stupid, pathetic human girl.

His hand gripped the front of his head and his eyes grew tense. Such pain had slashed through his head before. Such horror. The things he thought at that time made him feel disgusted with himself now. But at the time, they were perfectly sane to him. Like that was the only true logic in his mind. What if she had gotten hurt? If she asked it, he would have given her one of his hands in penance for letting her stray in harm's path. If she died, what would he do? What could he do? If she died...

He would have really killed himself.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. Inuyasha's head snapped up and his mind cleared. "What? What're you naggin' me for?" Kagome sighed and shook her head. "I've been talking this whole time. Were you even listening?" She asked upsetedly. He curled his lip and glanced away. "No." He answered lowly. Kagome groaned loudly. She instantly forgot her annoyance when her eyes met with the street sign in front of her. "Ah, this!" She said in a daze. Inuyasha's eyes flicked up at the sign and he read it. "Pfft. The hell's this?"

"**F.Y.I. **This isn't in HELL So don't ask me what in hell it is, because it is not in hell, okay?" He stared down at her with an open mouth.

"This happens to be my secret spot. I used to come here all the time when I was mad or in trouble...I guess I came here without thinking about it." She let go of his arm with a grin and put her hand on the street sign. She sighed happily and closed her eyes to think about the memories that came to her head. "When my parents were really mad at me and I was in serious trouble, I used to run here while they discussed my punishment. Hours later at night, I'd hear them calling me at this street sign...Hah, I'd start crying and I'd run out to them. They'd be so worried about me, they'd forget the bad I'd done and we'd all go out for ice cream." She hugged the sign and smiled.

"What a load of garbage. If you don't mind, I'll be hurling in this bush here." Kagome narrowed her eyes at him as he walked towards a large brown bush. "Go right ahead. You deserve to throw up because of the mess you've put me in..." Her lips pointed into a smile and she gasped in a breath. "Heyyy, that bush used to be covered in flowers!" She bounded forward and nudged him out of her way.

He was forced to stumble back. His eyes were opened to their full extent and he was extremely shocked at this sign of disrespect.

"Aww, that is so sad...I wonder how it died." Kagome cooed to the bush and stroked its leaves with love. "Well here's something to chew on:" Inuyasha walked up to her. "No one cares!" Kagome stopped stroking the bush. She pursed her lips, stood up, and faced him. Inuyasha's eyes locked on to her own. Their challenging gazes made lightning bolts of anger crash through their minds.

"I care." Kagome said clearly. Inuyasha pointed his chin and sniffed. "Well I don't. And neither does that bush, 'cause it's _dead_."

"That's it!" Kagome bellowed. "I've had just about--" A light suddenly pierced through the darkness of the shielded street and blinded Kagome. She cried out and slapped her hands over her eyes. "Who's back there?" She heard a man shout. Kagome fumbled for something to say. "Would you mind turning that li--"

"Answer me!" The same loud, brash voice shouted. Kagome nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Okay, okay! I'm Kagome Higurashi, high school student. I live with my mom, and my favorite colors are blue and purple," She heard the man begin to laugh. He shut off his flash-light and she heard him walking towards her. "Okay, I get it. You can't be too careful around this street these days." Kagome removed her arms from her head and blinked. "Oh, you can't?" She asked. The man shook his head. "Nope," He stopped in front of her. "Things can get pretty nasty around here, with gangs and all that. I would know. My boy hangs out with some of them...Nasty group."

Kagome felt a smile tug the side of her face. "This was my safe-street when I was little." She said in a sad tone. The man smiled saddly with her. The two had the looks of old men remembering the good times before things had changed so harshly.

Inuyasha was holding on to his neck, fake-wretching.

"So you're Kagome Higurashi. Are your parents the ones that would come calling for you at night years ago? Your name is very familiar..." Kagome's mouth opened into a shocked grin. "Yeah, that was me!" She laughed. Inuyasha growled and crossed his arms. He tried to seem aggitated and their annoying talk, but he was really very upset that he was so left out of thier conversation.

"I thought so!" The man laughed. "Do you go to that high school about four miles from here?" He asked. Kagome shook her head. "No, mine's much closer to this street. About a half a mile."

"A quarter mile." Inuyasha corrected her firmly. "A quarter mile." Kagome echoed him. She paused with a bewildered expression. She had forgotten completely about Inuyasha until he spoke. She hoped he couldn't tell. "Oh, a quarter mile from here, you say?" He clapped his hands. "That's too bad. My boy goes to the one about four miles from here." Inuyasha mocked the man shamelessly and made very rude hand gestures while doing so. He was living it up because he knew Kagome wouldn't dare tell him to stop.

"Oh, stop that!" Kagome laughed. She was glancing directly at Inuyasha. Inuyasha froze on the spot. She looked back at the man and said, "You keep bragging so much about 'your boy'. I guess you two are close?" Inuyasha's mouth trembled in words unspoken. He wanted to kill something. That's what he used to do. Before he was sealed away, he'd kill for fun. Murder used to be his game. His hobby.

Now he was chained to the very species that he tormented for so long.

"Yeah, we're pretty close. You seem different than normal teens, though. My boy's not easy to talk to now-a-days..." He said, scratching his stubbled chin. He suddenly put on a proud grin and said, "But we have our good times." His booming laugh echoed around the street. Kagome laughed softly along with him. "Say," He said. "If your home's far from here, why not get a ride home from my boy? I'm sure he'd be glad to take you." Kagome laughed and nodded. "Oh, sure! Of course! That would be very nice, if it isn't too much trouble."

Moments later, Kagome found herself walking into a nice-sized house. It smelled of someone's dinner and a sweet scent of a warm perfume. Kagome smiled at the friendliness of the house. It was very pleasant being in that house. The man had disappeared somewhere in the house and was calling his son loudly. Kagome suddenly heard a hiss for attention by her ear. She jumped and turned around. Inuyasha glared down at her, standing at his full height. "Why are you acting like a freak?" Kagome blinked and frowned.

"I'm not acting like a freak. I just don't want him to think there's anything wrong with me..." Inuyasha's eyes suddenly lit with his manipulative spark, and he grinned. "So you admit you're acting?" Kagome shrunk down and narrowed her eyes. "Just a little. We're getting a ride home, aren't we?" Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms. "What does that have to do with anything? You could've just walked home, but you're lazy. That's why humans are so fat." Kagome's mouth opened and she straightened up. "I am not lazy! And I'm not fat, either, if you don't mind!"

"Here he is!" She heard. She whipped around and almost made an attempt to cover Inuyasha with her arms before she remembered that she was the only one who could see him. Her eyes met with the electric blue eyes of a boy not much older than herself. He was taller than Inuyasha by an inch and his hair was long and black, tied back in a hairband. Kagome could tell through his black jacket and cargo pants that he worked out quite a bit. He looked like he didn't care about anything. His eyebrows were loose and he glanced carelessly around his house. "This is my boy, Kouga." Kagome smiled and bowed. "Pleased to me you, Kouga. I've heard a lot about you."

When she stood back up, her pupils shrank. Kouga stared at her with angry, murderous eyes. She didn't know why, but he hated her. Not only that, but he hated everything. Especially her. That was plain and clear in his expression and in his eyes. Her breath got stuck in her throat and she closed her mouth tightly. He didn't bow, and he didn't introduce himself. He just stared.

Kouga's father clapped his hands and said, "It was nice meeting you 'again' so-to-speak, Miss Higurashi! I hope to see you again. Feel free to visit anytime. And don't be shy about being strict with my boy, here. He tends to be a little stubborn around girls." Suddenly, he burts out laughing and threw his head back into the air. He slapped his stout knees and shook his head around. "Well get going, you two. You hurry back now, Kouga." He slapped his son on the back, earning him a very dark and very well-hidden sneer.

Kagome walked backwards towards the door and hit Inuyasha. "Watch it!" He growled. Kagome spun around and raced through the doorway, not even apologizing. Not daring to in front of Kouga. Kagome stood in the driveway with a small smile. Kouga closed the door behind himself and proceeded to his black Mustang. He walked towards it like the Grim Reaper pursuing his next victim. He pulled his keys from his jacket pocket and unlocked the doors. Kagome glanced back at Inuyasha, but he was staring at a firefly that seemed interested in his ears.

Kagome entered the car. She slid to the farthest seat in the back and waited a moment for Inuyasha to come. He stared blankly at her as if to say, "You have _got_ to be kidding me." Kagome's heart pulsed quickly. She felt Kouga's eyes on her through the rear-view mirror. He must have been waiting for her to close the door. Kagome's palms were sweaty against the black leather seat of the car. She slid her hands to her sides and stared at Inuyasha. He crossed his arms and shook his head arrogantly. Kagome knew he would have to follow from behind, but she didn't like that idea. It was too scary. He would be too far away from her.

Her mouth opened to speak, but she closed it. She thought for a moment that maybe just by looking at him with a command in her thoughts, that he would do it. "Don't you drive with the doors closed on your planet?" She heard a new voice ask in a kind sarcasm. Her heart skipped a beat and she sat up straight. "Y-yes, I was just...Umm..." His eyes penetraded into her even through the reflection of a mirror. Kouga was an angry person. She didn't know how to talk to someone who seemed so angry.

He slowly raised an eyebrow and his pupils shrunk to the smallest possible size. Her obvious stupidity had pushed his only patience button, and now he was annoyed. "Close the door." He said quietly. Kagome jerked her eyes away from his and stared at the car door. "Of course." She blurted out. She moved her hand up to seem as though she were scratching the side of her face, but she was hiding her mouth from view. She leaned towards the car door and stared into Inuyasha's eyes. "Get in the car." She whispered as quietly as she could. Inuyasha uncrossed his arms and walked towards the car. His eys burned and he growled loudly.

He jumped into the car and sat on the seat farthest to the right. Kagome closed the door. She sat back with a sigh and a smile. She glanced up and stopped breathing for a moment. Kouga was staring directly at her over the shoulder of his seat. His mouth was slightly open and his black eyebrow was raised into his long black bangs. Kagome's heart raced and she tried to sit in a very dignified manner. "I've closed the door." She said calmly. Kouga blinked slowly. He then turned back around in his seat and started his car.

He shook his head a few times and backed out of the driveway.

The ride was quiet. The radio remained off despite Kagome's thinking Kouga would have some kind of metal blaring. Kagome quietly and hurriedly gave him directions as to how to get to her house. He followed them perfectly and without response. Soon, the shining black Mustang was pulling up Kagome's long, steep driveway. Kagome grinned and stared out the window like a child. "Here we are!" She said, leaning over Inuyasha. "Hey, back off!" He snapped. Kagome backed up and raised her hands up. "Oh, sorry." She mumbled. She leaned back into her seat.

"Who're you talking to...?" Kouga said quietly. Was that nervousness in his voice...?

Kagome's face flushed. She gasped quietly and murmured, "No one...I didn't say anything." Kagome stared at him through the rearview mirror. The car stopped. "If you say so." He said slowly. Kagome slid over to the door and opened it. She got out and said, "Thank you very much for taking the time to drive me home, Kouga." He raised his lip in distaste. "Yeah," He tapped his fingers impatiently on his steering wheel. "S...See you!" She forced out her happiest tone. Her hand tightened on the door and she gave a death glare to Inuyasha. He smirked broadly and leaned into his seat. Kagome's hear raced and she didn't dare look at Kouga.

"Could you close my door already?" He said with gritted teeth. "Mhm!" She closed her eyes in a happy smile. Her fingers started to tremble. She hoped it wasn't visible,

but it was.

Kouga looked away from his mirror and stared at her through his window. His eyes widened in curiosity and he stared directly at her. She was in a silent panic. Sweat shined on her hands and she trembled. Her lips were moving constantly. Her eyes were on the back seat. But what was in the back seat? Kouga turned his head around and examined it. Nothing was there. It was empty. He turned his head back to Kagome. Ever since he first saw her standing on the doorstep, he knew what kind of person she was. A happy little prissy teen that probably worshipped the _popular _people in her school. She probably had perfect friends, a perfect boyfriend, and she probably talked down or ignored people like himself that wore all black and didn't talk much.

She smiled too much. But it was a mask. She was like any other girl. Nothing special about her.

Untill he saw her trip backwards into someone that wasn't there before they left his house...That was weird. Then she wouldn't close the car door. Before she closed it, he could have sworn she told someone to get in. Then she apologized out of the blue to no one at all. Something was wrong with this bubbly teen girl. She deffinitely had some screws loose or something. And now what was she doing? Staring at nothing in the back seat of his car. She was hessitating for something.

Or some_one_.

She was in a panic. Sweating, shaking, trying to speak... Then suddenly, she did speak. Kouga held his breath to hear her.

"Go into the house." She whispered faintly. He surprised himself at being able to hear that. It was very faint. Almost like a breeze. It was interesting. Very interesting to him. With a shock, he remembered he was holding his breath. He started breathing again. Kagome thanked Kouga again and closed his door. She turned around and walked towards her house. Kouga started his car and rolled down his window a little. He moved his face close to his window and strained his hearing.

"You're gonna get it if you ever do that again, do you hear?" She hissed quietly. "First you pull that punch, and then you mess with me around a guy like that. There could have been some serious problems!" She walked up the few steps to her front door. Kouga was amazed. She wasn't scolding herself, she was scolding someone. Someone other than herself. She was looking at someone that Kouga couldn't see, and speaking to this person. He shook his head and wet his lips. It was very interesting...Was she crazy?

The thing he saw next amazed him the most. It shocked him and changed him forever. His eyes snapped open and his heart stopped.

Before Kagome got to the door, it opened by itself.

All the lights were off, and there wasn't a car in the driveway besides his own...no one had opened that door from the inside. Kagome walked over the threshold and glared at the invisible person again. She slammed her door.

Kouga was in utter astonishment. He didn't know what to believe. It was...Horrifying. What was it? What did it mean?

He stared at his steering wheel. His mind wa racing. Maybe she had bumped into someone at his front door. Maybe she held the door open for someone to get in, but they wouldn't. Maybe when she was leaning over to look out the window, she was leaning over someone and they objected...Maybe then in the end, they wouldn't get out of the car.

And maybe...That person opened the door for Kagome.

Kouga's hand moved up to rub his forehead. He was in shock. He couldn't believe it. It was too much to think about.

"Tomorrow...Tomorrow I'll go to her school. I'll meet her there...Yeah..." He moved his hand down to grip the steering wheel.

He drove out of her driveway and sped back home, eager to sleep and get to the next day.

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**_Insane-san says: _**_Woo-hoo! This is lookin' good! Anyway, I had to completely re-do this chapter from start to finish. It's basically a different chapter compared to the first product of it...So, I need more reviews for this one, so just hit me with some, okay? I'll see you in a couple of weeks, I guess. Heheh. Review this, guys! PLEASE.

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	4. Page Four

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Insane-san says: **I had serious writers block issues for this chapter. But somehow I worked them out. And here we are! -beams-_

_I'm almost one-hundred percent sure I said in earlier chapters what the title meant, but just in case, it pretty much literally translates to something like Scary Story. Book of horror, Scary book, novel, etc. Shousetsu no Kowai is The Scary Story._

_It's kind of like the book Kagome took home was scary, but the fanfiction itself is scary. Maybe it's a pun! n.n;  
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_Anyways, the month of July was brutal to me. There was so much family stuff and personal stuff. And there will be even more family stuff even into early August I think... Plus, school is gonna start for me. I barely had any time write, so that's why this chapter is so late. I hope it's good. Tell me in a review, ah? Enjoy the chapter.  
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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page f**o**ur_

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Her eyes moved underneath her eyelids slowly.

She was watching something in her dreams.

Her lips winced and pursed.

She was talking to someone.

And all the while she slept,

He watched her.

He sat next to her on her pink bed spread. She was blissfully unaware of how close he was to her. Her human sleep kept her away from every day thoughts and fears. Her white lace curtains puffed in and out with the breeze that flowed in through the window. It was a cool night. He knew he wouldn't sleep.

His golden eyes looked away from the window to gaze upon her sleeping face. She was very pale in the moonlight. She looked weak and pathetic. His blood boiled again and again at the thought of how she had him in chains. She took his power away. He hated her.

He dared his knee to touch her sheet-covered leg. The contact did nothing. Back in his time, a single long stare would have meant death to anyone it met. And a touch? The poor fool who had the privilege of being touched by him with a single tip of his claw would have died instantly from the fear.

But she wouldn't die from that. Because she didn't fear him. And how could she? She had control over him.

Inuyasha raked his claws through her pillow just above her head. The cloth ripped and stretched. Still, she slept on.

His eyes glared hard into her flesh. They glowed golden in the thick sheet of night. His lip curled in a silent snarl. "Few have ever challenged me. Two or three at most out of millions of others who feared me..." He whispered to her. "You are the fourth then, if I remember well." His razor-sharp claws moved slowly down the side of her face. Gentle, despite the nature of the beast they belonged to. "Those few..." A grin inched across his face. "All feared me in the end. Just before their deaths." He stretched his body out beside her and pressed her temple to his forehead. "You'll have to be patient while I find a way to break this curse." He hissed in her ear with a grin.

"I'll make sure no one hurts you except me. I'll be the one to kill you." His eyes widened when she moved. She had stirred in her sleep, nothing more. The shock left his face and he allowed his eyes to narrow. "That's right...Keep sleeping. Sleep with peaceful thoughts while they still stay in your mind. They won't be there for that much longer."

* * *

The sun splashed through Kagome's white curtains. The morning air was hot and it flooded her room.

A bead of sweat rolled down her neck and she groaned. She wiped it away and opened her eyes.

She turned her head to her Hello Kitty clock. It read 7:33am. '_Oh, that's nice..._' She thought spacily. She rolled off her bed and closed her window. She cracked her neck and sighed. What a horrible morning it was going to be. All the heat in her room was suffocating. She wanted a nice, cold shower. She smiled at the thought. She closed her eyes for a moment more of rest.

Just a moment more...

Then her eyes snapped open. "Wait..." She said quietly. "Seven-thirty...That means...!" She gasped and ran into her bathroom to get a shower. "I'M GONNA BE LATE!" She screeched. She kicked the bathroom door closed, grabbed her toothbrush, started the shower, and stared into the mirror while brushing her teeth. Then she noticed something in her hair.

She picked at it. '_Cotton...?_' She thought. She made a face and picked it out. She'd worry about it later.

No more than six minutes later, she was ready and dressed.

She grabbed her book bag and ran down the stairs. The bus would be there any second. Her socks slipped on the wooden floor. She pulled open the closet door and grabbed a cereal bar. She was about to unwrap it when an odd noise echoed through her head. It was the sound a tennis ball makes when it hits the floor.

Kagome turned around.

A regal site met her eyes. And suddenly, she felt like she wasn't in her own house anymore.

Directly to Kagome's right, down the little hall, in the reading room, in a huge brown chair, sat Inuyasha. He was sideways in the chair. One leg on the floor, one leg over the arm rest. He was sprawled in it like a royal king of arrogance. Kagome stared at him and was taken aback in surprise. She heard the sound again. Then she saw in his hand was a keepsake of her fathers before he went away.

A baseball signed by her father's favorite player. Kagome didn't like sports. She preferred reading. But to her, that baseball meant much more than something used in a game. Her father gave it to her years ago. She held on to it every time she read. And Inuyasha was carelessly bouncing it on the floor. He'd catch it, hold onto it for a moment, then let it drop and repeat the cycle.

The realization of what he was doing suddenly hit her like a truck. "INUYASHA!" She screamed. His ears flicked backwards and he winced. He glared at her through his bangs. How dare she interrupt his thinking with her shrieks? "PUT THAT BALL DOWN!" Unfortunately for him, he did whatever she said. The ball slipped from his hand right away and landed on the floor. It bounced a little, then rolled and rolled until it hit the wall.

Kagome ran into the room and picked up the baseball carefully, as if it were a precious treasure. To her, it was. To Inuyasha, it was an object that smelled like rubber and dirt with some unknown's name scribbled on it. He had picked it up out of boredom and somehow began bouncing it while he thought of things.

"What's the big deal?" He said in annoyance. Kagome ignored him. She walked up to one of the bookshelves and placed the ball on its stand. She sighed contentedly. Now, it was back in its place. She spun around to exlpain it all to Inuyasha, but then a sound met her ears. The sound of the school bus.

Kagome's eyes bulged. "Come on, Inuyasha!" She yelled. He got up with a growl and followed her. She ran out the door, locked it, and closed it. She ran into the bus and moved awkwardly to the back row of seats. She hoped everyone had forgotten about the day earlier with Hojo. Lucky for her, no one seemed to be thinking about it. They were talking to themselves and didn't even look up at her. Not once. Kagome smiled with relief and sat down in her usual window spot. She turned her head to her left. Her three friends weren't there. Kagome frowned and sighed sadly. Inuyasha smirked and jumped onto the seat.

Kagome moved away from him with an aghast face. Inuyasha made sure to leave her as little room as possible.

Thus, Kagome's ride to school was the worst one she had ever experienced. But that was how Inuyasha had planned it to be.

After what seemed like forever and a day, they arrived at the high school. This time instead of being first off the bus, Kagome was last. She stepped down to the ground and slowly made her way to the school doors. Inuyasha trailed after her.

"Kagome!" She heard someone yell. She turned around. It was someone she didn't expect to see. Her mother. "Mom!" She yelled back. She didn't know whether to run to her or remain where she stood. Her mother on the other hand, ran up to her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I thought I'd go see your grandpa in the mountains to clear my mind, but once I got there, I wasn't relaxed at all. I realized that I was neglecting my duties as a mother. Oh Kagome, I hope you'll forgive me..." Kagome was hesitant to return her mother's embrace. Something was stopping her.

She wasn't aware that her act of hesitance interested Inuyasha. He watched her, a slow smirk coming upon his face.

So she held grudges, did she? That was interesting. It was her own mother. Why wouldn't she hug her back? Inuyasha watched them.

"I forgive you." Kagome said. Inuyasha's eyes widened and his ears stood up straight. Even he could tell she was lying. That tone...Of course he had heard it before. His ears were well trained in listening for emotions through voices. She wasn't telling her mother the truth. But why? It was her own mother. Her mother's sobbing quieted. "Oh, thank you. I'll do my best to help you in whatever ways I can. I know that you probably had a good reason for lying to those policemen. We can discuss it after you get home from school, okay?"

Kagome nodded with a smile and allowed their embrace to break. "Yeah, sure. I'll spill everything, okay?" Her mother wiped her eyes with a smile. She said her farewells and went to her car. Kagome watched her until the car was out of sight.

Inuyasha grinned and walked close to her. He walked with her to her locker. "So what was up with that?" He asked, grinning. Kagome raised and eyebrow and looked to her left and right to make sure no one could see her speaking to an invisible man. "What are you talking about?" She asked. He snickered. "Don't play stupid. I wasn't exactly born yesterday. I know a thing or two about lying." Kagome's face darkened and she stared at him, book bag in hand. "I didn't lie to my mother. I have no reason to. Now follow me. I have a class to get to."

When Kagome stepped into her first class, it was already full with students. Only one empty seat remained for her to sit in. And it was right next to the largest kid in her school. She gulped. Inuyasha's head swayed. He realized the cause for the emotion he was feeling and he glared at Kagome. She didn't know what she was doing to him. And he would never let her find out. He would never give her the knowledge of how much power her emotions had over him.

Kagome made her way over to the seat. She sat down and pulled out her notebook. She avoided eye contact. But he was staring at her with a cheesy smile. His name was Manten. No one knew if he was born in Japan, or if he was born on the moon. He was a giant among all of them. And he made sure everyone knew it. Daily beatings were a part of his school routine. He was also part of a small gang that consisted of two other students. Scary, dark guys. Everyone knew much better than to talk to them or even look at them.

Now Kagome had to sit down next to the biggest one. Though he was the dumbest of them, he was still terrifying.

He continued to smile at her. He was missing teeth and looked like he never had braces in his life. His gums were discolored and his hair was thin. Under his huge black clothes, you couldn't really tell if he was really fat, or really muscular.

Kagome didn't want to find out.

Suddenly he laughed. Quietly. "See you after school." He said in his deep voice. The hairs shot up on Kagome's body.

Inuyasha's golden eyes shot over to the large boy and he growled loudly.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. Her mind wandered over a strange thought. But she shook it off.

* * *

The rest of her classes ended awkwardly and silently.

People seemed to not notice Kagome existed. They stared anywhere else but her form as they passed her.

Even the teachers seemed to see her as being invisible.

Her three best friends were no where to be seen throughout the entire school day. The only person that acknowledged her existence all through the day was Inuyasha. And Kagome hated that. She hated that because of him, her life was ruined. She hated that because of him, nobody talked to her anymore. She hated that because of him, she had to lie to people.

School had ended and she stood in the green yard. She stared into the dimming sky with a far-away look. Her mouth pointed down and her eyebrows raised in a frown. She wished she was a princess in the sky with a castle made of cloud. She'd have a prince as pretty and as white as her cloud castle; her subjects would be the stars.

"Pssst," Someone snapped her out of her thoughts. She raised her head with a curious look. Her face seemed to shrink in her shocked terror. Standing just behind the school was the giant kid who was the only other person that acknowledged her for the entire day. He grinned when she noticed him. He waved his hand frantically towards himself.

'_Weird,_' Kagome thought. '_He doesn't seem scary like that. He seems more like an excited kid._'

Suddenly Kagome felt herself very tempted to go and find out what he wanted. She knew she wouldn't be hurt since Inuyasha was there. Once she remembered Inuyasha, she looked over her shoulder at him. His side faced the school building and he was staring quite carelessly at the large teen. Kagome decided that if Inuyasha wasn't threatened, then it was probably okay.

But still she was hesitant. She stared with a curious look at the boy. He continued signaling with his fat hands. His mouth formed the words, "Come on! Come on! Here!" Kagome took a step forward. Her uniform skirt fluttered against her leg. The feel of the skirt against her leg was a sure sign in her head that she was moving forward. If she took a few more steps, there would be no going back.

After the incident with Hojo yesterday, who would want to talk to her? The curiosity was eating her insides.

She took another step. And another. And another. By that time, the giant guy was almost bouncing up and down. Kagome took another step. She was almost halfway there. Behind the school. That's where kids got beat up all the time. It was really shady and windy back there. And since it was far away, no one went back there much. Kagome had never been behind the school before. But that was because the school's gang was there.

Once she realized that, she stopped moving. Her eyes widened and her heart was pounding. '_The gang is back there. The school bullies. The only school bullies. I've seen every kid they beat up. In the end, their faces are hardly recognizable..._'

But she would be okay. Because she had Inuyasha on her side. Kagome decided to go all out and go behind the school. She stepped forward and began walking smoothly towards Manten. Her head was high and she tried to put on the air of royalty. She was apparently doing a good job, because Manten almost went starry-eyed with amazement and what looked to be_ respect_.

So far, Inuyasha just followed her slowly. From his demeanor, nothing seemed to be wrong. Be he had that grin. That psychotic grin. He obviously knew something that she didn't. She tried to ignore it.

Finally, she was in front of him. His huge eyes met her confused gray ones. He clapped his hands. "Welcome, dear lady!" He said excitedly. He was almost too excited to speak, but he managed to get the words out. "If you'll follow me, please." He turned around, shaking with excitement. '_So far, so good._' Kagome told herself. '_He hasn't punched me yet, and he seems to be playing, not hating._'

Then someone called out to her from the front of the school. "Miss Higurashi! Miss Higurashi?" It called. Kagome winced and turned around. It was the school's principal. Kagome took a few steps backwards and looked at him. "Yes, sir?" She called out calmly. The principal stared at her. "Well," He started. He looked at his watch. "In about twelve minutes your mother will be here." He looked back up at her. "When she gets here, I want you in my office. Understood?" Kagome swallowed. "Yes, sir."

With that, he went back into the school. Kagome sighed. Her eyes filled with worry as she stared at the grass. '_What's gonna happen to me...?_' She asked herself sadly. Manten looked at her carefully but then he cleared his throat to call attention to himself.

Kagome looked up. She took that turn around the corner of the school. Now she was at the back. It was like stepping into the dark side. It was very, very dark behind the school. She went from being warm to freezing. A calm breeze flowed steadily through the back. She heard Inuyasha make some kind of noise to show his displeasure at the irritating change in climate. She had to agree with him. It wasn't exactly a nice place to hang out.

Then she heard a voice. Cool, with just a touch of cocky. "Welcome," It said. Kagome's face paled. She knew his voice. He was the leader. Manten's older brother, Hiten. Much handsomer and much more dangerous. She couldn't see him well because he was far away, sitting on his box throne. And it was very dark. She knew how he looked, though. She had seen him before.

He wasn't at all fat like his brother. He was thin and muscular. His eyes were such a color of brown that they almost looked red. His hair was black and tied in a braid. He never wore the school uniform so she didn't know what he was wearing. One thing was for sure, he was an angry person. When you were called personally by him, it probably meant death. Kagome gulped quietly.

Inuyasha was _very _displeased. Once again, a _human_ had the girl scared instead of himself. He knew there were more people behind the school, but he chose not to tell her. She was pretty cocky if she thought she could face the danger by herself. It was pretty cocky of her to walk so proudly towards the back of the school even though she knew what probably awaited her.

Cockier than he had every thought her to be when she stood up straight in the dark, cold area, staring straight in the obvious leader's direction. He almost wanted to compliment her guts.

Then Hiten jumped down from his box and took a few slow steps towards her. Kagome's eyes had adjusted fairly quickly to the dark. She could see him clearly now. He spoke. "I hope you didn't have trouble finding our domain." He said. He closed his eyes and waved his hand in a careless gesture. "What with the attack snakes, the assassins, the hedge maze, and the flying shurikens...Not to mention the lasers." He opened his eyes again and stared at her.

Kagome's lips twitched into a smile. She tried to remove it but it stuck there stubbornly. Hiten grinned. "So, you do have a sense of humor. I didn't know much about you, so I had to test you." Kagome scratched lightly at her eyebrow even though it didn't itch. "We have a sense of humor, too." Hiten said. He waved his hand to invite her closer in to their domain. Once you got used to the massive shade, the cold temperature, and the breeze, you'd admit it was pretty nice.

They had really nice lawn chairs for seating, a cooler full of food and drinks, a radio, and a huge box for Hiten's throne. The old box was nice. It was wooden and had Chinese calligraphy written neatly in lines all over it. It was well painted, too.

Kagome walked further in. Manten hopped into a big green inflatable chair. Hiten jumped onto his throne in a very graceful fashion.

He was truly the king of the school.

Then Kagome noticed that there was only Hiten and Manten. She knew there was a third member because she had heard them talk about him before. But he wasn't there. "Take a seat." Manten said with obvious glee. He was trying his hardest to be cool. Kagome walked over and sat in a cushioned lawn chair. Her head swayed with some kind of emotion. She was actually sitting with the worst guys in the whole school. And they were talking to her. They offered her a seat. But she wasn't getting beaten up.

"So," Kagome said quietly. Both Manten and Hiten leaned forward quickly to give her their full attention. She hadn't spoken the whole time so it was exciting for them. Inuyasha busied himself with picking the grass to hide his annoyance. Kagome continued. "Isn't there a third member...To this...Umm...To your..." Hiten grinned and waved her off. "Yeah, there is!" He said he crossed his legs and pushed his hands against his knees. "He goes to a different school, though. He comes here after he gets out." Kagome nodded slowly.

"He should be here soon..." Hiten drawled. Then he blinked like he just snapped out of something. "Ah, would you like something to drink maybe?" He asked. He flicked his fingers at Manten without looking at him. Manten bounced up from his seat and rushed over to the cooler. "You don't drink beer, do you?" Manten asked. Kagome's eyes widened a little. "No, I don't really like beer." She said.

Inuyasha stopped picking grass and looked up. He raised an eyebrow. "You've actually had beer before?" He asked. Kagome ignored him.

"Well, we don't only have beer." Hiten said with a grin, shaking his head. "We have," He waved his hand at Manten and Manten quickly and happily began reciting the titles of the drinks they had. Kagome eventually settled for a bottle of orange soda.

She popped the lid off easily and drank. That earned her an open-mouthed grin from Hiten and Manten. She lowered her bottle and stared at them. "Is there...Something I did?" She examined herself. "You opened the lid to that bottle like it was the tab of a soda can!" Manten said giddily. Then he picked up a beer-bottle opener. "Normally you would use something like this." He shook it in front of himself.

"Oh, well..." She fumbled for words. There was a perfect explanation. She knew the trick to opening those typed of lids. She'd been taught the trick years ago and had gotten better at if over time.

"I was so right for bringing you here." Hiten said with a laugh. Kagome's hands played with the cold bottle nervously. "If you don't mind me asking," She said slowly. "What..._Did_ you bring me here for?" She looked up at Hiten. He appeared astounded at the question. "Didn't I say that already?" Manten stood up. "I don't believe you did, Brother." He said like a soldier to his commander. Hiten waved his hand down and Manten sat quickly.

"Well excuse my rudeness," He pressed an arm over his chest, bowed, and said, "I brought you here for further evaluation."

Kagome choked on her soda. She stood up and coughed and cleared her throat. She slammed a fist against her chest and coughed some more. When she was more or less recovered, she sat back down. "Evaluation? For what?" She asked in disbelief. Hiten looked at her as though she were crazy. "To become our fourth member, of course!" He slammed his elbows against his box and rested his head in his hands. He smiled at her and said, "He should be here any second. Once he gets here, I'll have him look you over and tell him the whole story. To be honest," He said and sat back up straight. "Manten and I saw the whole Hojo thing yesterday, and we're both really amazed." He stood up on his box and began to pace on top of it. Kagome's jaw dropped.

And so did Inuyasha's.

"He should have been here by now...Something's keeping him." Hiten glared into the school wall and crossed his arms.

Then there was a loud ringing sound. Everyone jumped. It was coming from Hiten. Hiten pulled a two-way radio from his pocket and flipped the antenna up. He pushed a button and it made the same siren noise. Kagome listened.

"Hiten," The voice came in clearly. Hiten stood up straight even though the person wasn't there to see him at all. "Yes, sir!" He answered. Kagome raised an eyebrow. '_Sir...? But I thought...I thought Hiten was the leader?_' Inuyasha traced his claws over Kagome's soda bottle. It was cool underneath his finger tips. He didn't care about the present situation. He planned to throw the bottle against the wall when the time was right. He wanted her to guess his plan and try to stop it so she would embarrass herself. But...She was very busy staring at Hiten. Almost _too_ busy. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

How could she take her attention off of him? Wasn't he evil anymore? He was supposed to be scary. But there she was, giving some stupid poser all of her stares. It made him very angry. He wanted her to look at him and guess his plan to ruin her even more.

The voice coming through the two-way spoke again. "Sorry about being late." He said. "I was looking for someone."

Hiten almost saluted, but he restrained himself. He must've realized it wouldn't do any good. "Not an issue, sir. By the way, there's a girl here with us. I told you about her briefly yesterday..." There was a silence at the other end of the two-way. Kagome held her breath and glanced around nervously. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she wanted to be accepted.

Everyone else had abandoned her, but these people didn't care.

"Is that so?" The voice finally replied. Hiten nodded. "Yes, she displayed quite a bit of strength yesterday, more-so than my own, sir...Ah, she hit someone. The school's like-like guy. Obviously," Hiten laughed. "She didn't like him at all. She hit him so hard, his face was crushed. Bled like a fountain, he did. It didn't even look like she lifted an arm, it was so fast...Ah, yeah. I thought I told you about it yesterday!" He laughed at his forgetfulness. Apparently he had told his leader all about it earlier.

Inuyasha scoffed. "She couldn't even hit an elephant if it was right in front of her. She'd miss and hit herself." Kagome glared at him. "Stop making fun of me." She whispered in embarrassment. Inuyasha tried to open his mouth but failed. He glared deep into her eyes. Suddenly they were wrapped up in a staring contest to end all staring contests.

"Black hair and grayish eyes, sir. Pale-skinned and thin...Yeah, I think so...Oh, she uh...right now seems to me glaring at the wall..."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat and she spun around to face Hiten. She realized he was talking about her. Inuyasha laughed. "I win." He said darkly. Kagome bit back a retort. It wasn't fair that she couldn't yell at him in their presence. It just wasn't fair. She had the bad end of the whole deal and she was sick of it. The sooner she found a loop-hole, the better...There just had to be a way to break the spell! And she'd find it. Then she'd lock him back up in that book.

And she'd never have to deal with him again.

Suddenly, Hiten put the two-way back into his pocket. He scratched the back of his head, seeming confused. Kagome watched him carefully. "It's weird. He's rushing here all of a sudden..." He sat on his box and turned to Manten. "First he said he was lookin' for someone, now he's no his way here. From the sound of it, he was running." Then Manten grinned. Hiten grinned back at him.

Obviously they felt they had done a good job, and their leader must have been very pleased.

So they waited.

Kagome was oblivious to Inuyasha's planning. When the leader got there, he planned to throw Kagome's bottle into the school wall. That would cause some commotion for sure. He grinned at the thought. It was exciting to plan her demise. He'd break her.

Then_ he'd _be the one telling _her_ what to do.

"Ah, Leader!" Hiten jumped off of his box throne clumsily and saluted. Manten shot up and did the same. Kagome got up half-way, then sat back down in shock.

"Koga!" She said, her eyes wide. Inuyasha had just reached for the bottle when he heard her say the name.

"Oh..._Him_...?" He looked up through his jagged bangs and glared at Koga. If only he could feel the death signals being shot at him...Inuyasha wanted him to die. "It was you." Koga said through breaths. "I thought you'd...have gone home. So I..." He stared at her in a strange kind of wonder. Things in his head began ticking. Pieces of the situation began to build up. First, there was yesterday's happenings. Then there was the punching incident he had heard about. A punch so quick, no one saw her even lift an arm.

A punch so strong and terrifying, the boy was thrown right into the fence and ended up with a broken jaw, missing teeth, open face wounds, and fractures in his skull.

Koga stared at her.

"Keh. Look at 'im. He's obviously dull in the head. Let's leave." Inuyasha said. Kagome's mind was working so hard, she didn't even hear what he said. Something was strange about Koga...She was scared of what he could be thinking about.

Inuyasha's eyes bore into her. She ignored him? She ignored him. He picked up the bottle. Kagome quickly saw what he planned to do and she jumped up and threw herself on top of him. It was slow-motion for Inuyasha. His eyes widened in horror at her unexpected reaction. She slammed him onto the ground and tried to wrestle the bottle from his hand. She beat his chest. "Give! Me! That! Bottle!" She said with each punch. Inuyasha let go immediately with a snarl. "REMOVE YOURSELF." He screamed. He had completely lost his composure.

Kagome pushed herself up and jumped backwards while holding onto the bottle. She was breathing hard from the struggle. Inuyasha jumped to his feet and braced his claws. He lowered his head and stared straight into here eyes. His lips curled back to reveal his fangs and he growled steadily. "You and me, wench. Right now." He twitched his fingers and the knuckles cracked.

Kagome glared and him and swallowed. He was breathing hard, too. "No." She said quietly. "Calm down."

Inuyasha's ears fell backwards and his eyes burned with rage. How could she do that to him! Slowly, he seemed to be settling down against his will. Like some invisible person was massaging a raving person, and slowly, though they didn't wish to, the person began to calm down.

Inuyasha's eyes closed and he sat down.

There was silence.

Kagome felt the eyes of everyone examining her. She didn't dare turn around. She held onto the bottle with shaking hands.

More time passed in silence.

She cleared her throat.

"...It's been twelve minutes. I have to go." She walked past Inuyasha, not bothering to command him to follow her. They had already caused enough problems with their fighting. Luckily, he was so calmed down, he followed her on his own without problems.

Kagome rounded the corner of the school and was gone from their sights.

* * *

"Ah, miss Higurashi. Please take a seat." The principal waved his hand to one of his office chairs.

Kagome nodded and sat herself down. Her mother sat in the seat next to her. She hugged her long, brown coat around herself and patted her purse. She looked around the office nervously, wondering what trouble her daughter had gotten herself into.

"Well, we are here today to finally discuss a problem that everyone in the school knows about." Mrs. Higurashi's eyes widened. "A problem?" She asked fearfully. Kagome rolled her eyes. '_Sure mom, display your meekness to the world._' Inuyasha knelt on the carpet beside Kagome's chair. He was calm. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. But Kagome could tell it would wear off.

"Yes Mrs. Higurashi, a problem. You see, yesterday," The principal sat down in his large black chair. "Kagome hit a young man in the face. Remarkably hard, might I add." Kagome's mother gasped. She stared in astonishment. "The boy is in the hospital." The principal continued. "She more or less crushed his face. He's alive and will recover, but he'll have scars for the rest of his life, as well as breathing trouble through his severely broken nose."

Kagome's face was sickly pale as she listened to these things. Things that happened to other people because of her.

Because of _him_.

She looked down at Inuyasha. He was staring at the carpet in a daze and making designs in it with his claws. Kagome narrowed her eyes and looked back up to the principal. Of course he was relaxed now. She had told him to be. Even if she hadn't told him to calm down, he wouldn't have cared about what happened to Hojo. He wouldn't have given anything as an apology. Not even a bow of his head. In fact, he would have laughed if he wasn't so calm. He would have said, "Good, serves the filth right." Or something along those lines.

Kagome sighed and listened to the principal. She knew she wouldn't be able to defend herself at all on the matter.

"I just don't believe it." Kagome's mother said with a gasping voice. "How could she...?" The principal waved her off. He folded his hands together and said, "That's what we're trying to figure out. The witnesses we have gathered all honestly claim that she punched him. But as we pried them for more information, they all admitted that they didn't actually _see_ Kagome even lift an arm to hit him. Either she can hit faster than the speed of sight, or she didn't hit him at all."

Kagome's mother pressed her fingers to her lips and rocked in her chair. Kagome stared at the principal and said, "I didn't hit him. It wasn't me." The principal stared at her. "Just because no one saw you hit him doesn't mean you didn't. He was last seen standing directly in front of you. he was hit from the front directly into his face. It couldn't have been anyone else _but_ you."

Kagome sighed loudly and stared at the ceiling.

"So, it's looking like it must have been her...?" Her mother asked shakily. The principal frowned seriously and nodded. "Any other explanation is pretty ridiculous. Like some of the explanations we got from certain students. They claimed that perhaps she has telepathic and/or psychic abilities that enabled her to hit him without actually moving at all."

Kagome laughed. "Trust me, I don't." She said, staring hard into his eyes. "I didn't hit him." She said. The principal raised his head.

"Then who did?" He asked. They stared at one another in concentration. "I can't say." She said. The principal's brows furrowed. "So you're covering for someone?" He asked. Kagome narrowed an eye. "No, but...I just can't tell you. You wouldn't understand." She said.

Kagome saw the vein on his temple swell with blood as his frustration grew. She shrunk back in her chair slightly.

"So you're not covering for someone, but you won't tell me how this boy managed to have his face smashed in?" He asked. His voice was showing his growing anger. Suddenly Kagome let down her emotion wall of toughness. Her eyebrows raised in her frown and her eyes shined in something that resembled sadness. She nodded. "Yes, sir." She said quietly.

The principal leaned back in his chair and sighed while he massaged his forehead. He put his glasses back on and straightened up. "In that case Miss Higurashi, I can't do anything to defend you. All evidence points to you. The boy's parents have dropped charges on assault, but you're going to have to be expelled. This is something serious and hopefully you'll learn from your mistakes."

Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the quiet sobbing of her mother. She wanted it all to go away.

"I'm sorry." He said. "But unless you can tell me anything more to defend yourself, this is the way it must be." He stood up as a sign for them to be ready to leave. Kagome's mother stood up clumsily and fumbled for a tissue in her purse. She promptly blew her nose in it and shuddered from a harsh sob. Kagome's eyes watered and she ground her teeth.

She couldn't tell them. And she wouldn't.

Inuyasha stood up narrowed his eyes lazily at Kagome's mother. "Tell her to be quiet." He whined childishly. "I was falling asleep!" Kagome's eyes wandered over him as he gazed at her mother. She knew that soon, he'd be the only person she could talk to.

She was slowly falling away from the world.

"Come on." She said to him. She counted on both her mother and the principal to think she was addressing her mom. Inuyasha followed her out of the principal's office. They were followed by Mrs. Higurashi who continued to sob and blow her nose.

* * *

**_Insane-san says: _**_PHEW! Finished at last! -beams- I'm so excited to get this chapter out for some reason. All my plans for this fic are slowly taking off...Once they take off, they're gonna fly, man! FLY INTO THE SKY! Err...THE INTERNET! _

_You can review this if you aren't too mad about me being late. But hey people, that's life. _

_Sometimes it likes to rough me up a bit. o.0 _

_See you guys next time. Much love! Toodles._**_  
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	5. Page Five

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__**Insane-san says: **Well, here's another chapter of Shousetsu no Kowai. I'm looking forward to really getting into the characters. I'll soon be going into Kagome's past, as well as Inuyasha's. I plan to throw in some more characters from the show soon as well. As for now, I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter. Once again, I've made if over 6,000 words as per my usual goal. This is probably my longest chapter yet...Can you believe it's over 11,111 words? Hot dang. o.o_

_The reason for my absence is because my time is now extremely limited. My computer time, that is. Somehow my mother doesn't quite understand that my writing fanfiction could possibly lead to a future career as an author. But whatever. It's her decision, she's my mother. I now only have a half hour to an hour of typing time._

_That's seriously bad._

_But let's not dwell on that. The whole update every Thursday thing is pretty much screwed. So I guess we can drop that. I'll try to get as much writing time as possible. I'll do my best to keep the updates rolling in._

_On to other things, this chapter kind of changes from looking into Kagome's P.O.V., to Inuyasha's. I think that it's kind of fun...Oh, and I was SO happy at the number of reviews I received for the last chapter. They really made me want to write this as fast as possible. Maybe you guys can review again, hm? I'll be waiting. Enjoy!_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page five_

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Kagome sighed.

She sat on her pink bed spread with Inuyasha sleeping at her feet.

When they got home, Kagome had gone to her room. Inuyasha followed, laid down on her bed,

and fell asleep.

Kagome was reading Treasure Island, one of her favorite books. She couldn't keep her attention on her book, however. You wouldn't be able to either if there happened to be a sleeping in-human boy on your bed right in front of you. His face stayed the same throughout his sleep. He looked calm and relaxed, like nothing in the world could disturb him. Kagome wondered if that was because she had told him to calm down, of if that was just how he slept.

Her mother was on the phone calling every single one of their relatives and family friends and telling them what had happened.

Kagome had been expelled from school for beating up a boy.

Like she always did, Mrs. Higurashi enjoyed talking. A lot. Especially about herself. So she told everyone how sad she was, and how heartbroken. She cried, blew her nose, moaned in her agony, and then sucked in all of the sympathy she received.  
Kagome turned a page in Treasure Island. She always knew ever since she was a little girl that her life would never be as exciting as a book like Treasure Island.

But now she knew that she had been wrong.

She heard her mother's voice out in the living room. "That's the question I've been asking myself as well! Why would my Kagome even think about hitting a boy? And how on earth did she gather up enough strength to crush his face?" She shouted in wonder.

Kagome sighed. '_Maybe if I explain it to my mother, she'll believe me..._' She said to herself. Her eyes focused on the a page in her book even though she wasn't reading it. '_...And if she doesn't...?_' She felt herself ask. "Then I'll have to convince her." She said in a firm tone. Inuyasha's ears moved and he rolled over. Kagome stared down at him.

His ears swiveled and his eyebrows furrowed in his sleep. Kagome frowned. '_What am I supposed to do?_' She asked herself.

She got up from her bed slowly and closed her book. She walked to her closet and flicked on the light. She walked to the back of her closet, opened up her small black keep-sake chest, pulled out a key, and then opened up one of her safe-box drawers. She pulled out the large red book she had released Inuyasha from. She traced her fingers along the cold, black, curling metal spine. She opened up the empty book and stared at the inside cover. There was nothing there but a blank white page. It said nothing on either side.

'_There really is nothing here...This was just where he was sealed into...This isn't the answer. It has to be something else._' She thought.

She sighed quietly and closed the book. She put it back into the drawer, locked it, then put the key back into her keep-sake chest. She turned around to walk out of her closet. She bumped into something and backed up in surprise. Standing in the doorway of the closet was Inuyasha. He held loosely onto the frame of the closet and towered over her. He leaned closer to her.

"Watcha doin'?" He asked in an evil, childish manner. Kagome's heart pounded. "I was..." She glanced over her shoulder quickly. "...Looking at something." She finished. Inuyasha smirked. He flicked off the closet light. Kagome's heart sped up. "Should I lock you in here?" He asked himself outloud. His golden eyes glowed in the closet's darkness. Kagome narrowed her eyes in an attempt to look un-afraid.

"My closet doesn't have a lock." She said. She could see Inuyasha's face twist in annoyance. "And even if it did," She continued. "You wouldn't know where the key was." She smiled and crossed her arms. Inuyasha grinned. "That's right," He said. "But I could just hold it closed. It's not like you're stronger than me." He said tauntingly. Kagome's eyes burned. "I could be stronger than you if I wanted." She said. Inuyasha growled. "No, you couldn't." Kagome smiled warmly. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open. He stared.

"Yes I could." She said kindly. He gaped at her. He didn't understand her change in attitude. She took a step closer to him. "Do you want to know how?" She asked. She took half a step closer to him so that they were right in front of each other. Inuyasha tried to make his anger apparent by leaping backwards and cursing at her, but he found that, strangely, he couldn't move.

"Well," She said. Her voice turned smooth. She pushed a locke of his hair behind his shoulder gently. Inuyasha realized that his lungs had gone stiff and he wasn't breathing. But how could that be? It could only be the seal's doing. That magic had been pressed into his brain and was making him that way...

"I could just tell you to be weaker than me...Or..." She moved her face up so that her chin touched his jaw bone. Inuyasha's eyes blanked at the contact. Kagome curled her hand into a fist and slammed it on the top of his head. He gasped in shock and jumped backwards. Kagome grinned at her triumph. "If I had a sword in my hand then, it would have gone straight through your skull!" She said. "Oh, man!" She laughed. "I didn't think that would actually work on a person like you. I've seen that stuff in movies." She said.

Inuyasha stood near the side of her bed. He stared. "You're a--!" He tried to shout. The word wouldn't come out. Kagome shook her head like she was staring at something really sorry. '_Girl..._' He finished in his head. He blinked. "Sorry I had to do that," She said. "I just wanted to teach you a lesson. You shouldn't boast about your power, y'know. Because there's a saying..."

Inuyasha wasn't listening. His confusion had taken over his brain. He felt like he couldn't see or hear anything at all. Only the image of her so close to him in the closet. Then a strange thought struck him. Maybe it hadn't been the spell at all...? But if it wasn't the spell,

What was it?

"And that's why that happened like it did. So I'm sorry." She said. Inuyasha bared his teeth and glared at her. She was apologizing? He didn't want her to. The loser is the one who's supposed to apologize, not the winner. Yes, he acknowledged her as the winner of that fight...That absurd battle...And like the loser of any normal fight, he was angry at his weakness. But there was a problem with it. In any other fight, when one loses, one just trains the muscles of their body and gets stronger. But with a battle like that, after losing,

What was he supposed to be training...? There hadn't been any muscles involved.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Kagome asked. She waited. He didn't answer. "Fine," She said with venom. "I'll just go and get dinner. You can stay in here for all I care. Geez."

Inuyasha watched as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"This isn't going as planned." He hissed to himself.

Kagome pulled open the door of her fridge and took a bowl of left-over rice out. She wasn't hungry at all. Her situation made her feel like she was anorexic. She felt that she didn't deserve to eat after what she did to Hojo. After what she did to her mother. And especially since she was lugging around a dangerous _creature_ wherever she went.

She blamed all of her problems on him.

Kagome stuck the bowl of rice in the microwave and began to heat it up. She sighed. '_I've been sighing a lot lately._' She thought to herself.

She heard her mother's voice. "Kagome, would you mind talking to your aunty for a moment? Being a therapist, she wants to speak with you over the phone for a while." Kagome's heart flip-flopped in her chest. Butterflies raged through her stomach. She curled her fingers around her shirt to try and calm her stomach.

Kagome stared at the bowl of rice as it rotated inside the microwave. Then her eyes shined. She realized something. Since her aunt was a psychiatrist, or therapist or whatever she was, she wasn't allowed to tell other people what she heard Kagome say. '_It's against the law to do that, right...?_' She thought to herself with a tiny hint of a smile. Kagome walked out of the kitchen. She went up to her mother and took the phone hesitantly.

Kagome held it to her chest. "Is it okay if I talk in your room, mom?" She asked quietly. Her mother raised an eyebrow. The tear stains shined on her face even though she had calmed down considerably. "Oh? Why? Can't you speak in your room?" She asked. Kagome lowered her gaze and stared at the floor with a frown. Her eyes darted around the carpet in panic and she tried to think of an excuse. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kagome looked up at her mother, glad that she was being understanding.

But her mother's arms were at her sides. "Kagome...Are you well? Your face...Changed." Her mother said.

Kagome's chest felt exhausted from how fast her heart was pounding. But why should she feel nervous? She knew who it was. She didn't have to be scared. He couldn't hurt her. Kagome turned her head to look at the hand on her shoulder.

Long fingers with claws. The hand was gripped on her shoulder gently. She felt breath against her ear and swallowed a shudder. How could she go from being confident around him, to scared, stupid putty?

"Aren't you going to tell your mother why you didn't want to talk in your room?" He said quietly in her ear. Kagome's eyes widened and they swiveled over the carpet. She swallowed dryly and stared at her mother's shoes.

"Kagome," Her mother spoke. "I'm starting to worry. Your aunt is on the phone waiting, you know. If there's something you want to say--" She was cut off by Kagome.

"No, there's nothing." She said urgently. "Nothing!" She hissed with narrowed eyes. "You wouldn't listen anyway, you never do!" Her voice raised to a shout. Kagome's mother stared with a hurt expression. Her eyes watered with tears. "Kagome..." She said quietly.

Kagome's heart hammered in her chest. '_What am I saying out loud like that?_' She asked herself. '_What's wrong with me?_'

"Sorry," Kagome whispered with a lowered head. She jerked her arm away from Inuyasha and walked towards her mother's room. She went in and closed the door. She twisted the lock on the knob. "Umm...Hello?" She said into the phone. "Ah, Kagome," Her aunt's voice answered. "I'm glad to hear from you. I know it must have been hard to take the phone from your mother." Kagome sat on her mother's bed and curled her legs underneath her.

"Not really, I'm just..." She sighed and put a hand on her forehead. "You're not allowed to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you, right?" She whispered. She heard her aunt make a noise of agreement. "That's correct. Just tell me what's on your mind. Tell me all about the boy from school, Kagome. I'm listening."

Kagome's lip trembled so she bit on it. She'd been waiting to hear someone tell her they'd listen to her. It didn't matter to her if they thought she was crazy, she just wanted to tell someone. She needed help. She didn't understand what she was going to do with Inuyasha anymore. She didn't know a way out. The only thing she could see for her future was a life with Inuyasha. A husband would be impossible, she knew he wouldn't let that happen. Kids would be out of a question since there would be no husband.

There would be no girl's-night-out parties. There would be no prom date, or prom for that matter...

Her life was over as a teenage girl. Or as a human, even. She was stuck with him forever unless she could do something.

"Aunt Yura," Her voice came out shaking. Kagome cleared her throat and slapped her face a few times to tell herself to get it together. "I haven't told anyone this. You'll be the first person to know." Her aunt was silent, listening.

"Not that long ago, I went to a book store. It was small, and an old man worked there...I spoke to him for a while, and eventually, he gave me a book. He told me it was scary. Since I liked scary books, I accepted it. He told me not to open it until I got home. So...I went home. I went to the well house and hid inside it. I sat by the well, and I opened the book." She took in a shaking breath and cleared her throat again. By telling her aunt all of that, she might lose her aunt's respect. Her aunt Yura was her closest, most favorite aunt and extended family member. It might have been because her aunt was a psychiatrist, but they understood each other. Back when things were so hard for Kagome, her aunt was the only one who was there.

But by saying what she was right then, it could all crash down forever.

"There was all this light...and wind. A few moments later, there was someone else in the well house with me. But...He...Came from inside the book." She said quietly. She looked at her mother's door for a shadow of someone listening. No one was there.

"He was going to kill me, I think. Or he was going to spare me, I don't remember...But...He wasn't able to harm me at all. So I went back to the book store, talked to the old man, and I found out that the boy I released was some kind of ancient...Demon boy. I don't know how many years ago it was, but it's been so many that no one really remembers him anymore. I think he's in some books." She clenched at her shirt. Her aunt still didn't say anything.

"So, since I released him, he's...bound to me or something...He can't hurt me and he has to do whatever I say. If I tell him to jump out a window, he would." She laughed through her nervousness. It was a fake laugh. "And when someone tries to hurt me, he hurts them first. He really hates me, though. He wants me to die. But he can't stop himself. So when I was at school and Hojo walked up to me, I was feeling really pressured. I think my emotions transfer to him, but he went up to Hojo before Hojo could grab me, and he smashed Hojo's face in." Kagome picked at the hem of her shirt and stared at her mother's jewelry box.

"...I'm not sure...What to say." Aunt Yura said. "Thinking about it, it would explain your behavior lately. And it would explain what happened to that boy. But...It's just...Too much like a movie, or a story. I'm not sure what to say."

Kagome sighed and tried to hold onto the phone. Her hand was slick with cold sweat so the phone kept slipping.

"I swear it's true, Yura...I swear." Kagome pushed her palm against her forehead. "Let me talk to your mother for a moment." Kagome's face paled. "You're not--"

"No, I won't tell her what you said. I just want to speak with her. I want to fly over to your house, too."

Kagome said, "One moment," And went to her mother's door. She opened it and walked out. Inuyasha was sitting by the door with a bored expression. At the sound of the door opening, he stood up quickly and the boredom vanished from his face. Kagome looked up at him. She walked around him and handed the phone to her mother.

"So you told her, huh?" Inuyasha asked boredly. Kagome nodded. She could hear her mother talking in a hushed voice to her aunt. Kagome sat down in the reading room and smoothed her hands over the large arm rests. "I've been thinking," She said in the calmest voice she could manage. "Woah, that's amazing!" Inuyasha exclaimed. Kagome grit her teeth, but ignored him. "I've been thinking about what I'm supposed to do now. And...I decided that...Instead of being annoyed with each other, we need to stick up for one another, you know?" She looked at him. He was leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed.

"No, I don't know." He said. Kagome rolled her eyes and sank into the chair. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" She asked more to herself than to him. Inuyasha curled his lip back slightly. "Why do _you_ have to be so stupid? You're retarded." Kagome sighed angrily and sat up straight. "You can't just call anyone retarded, you know. It isn't right. I don't have anything wrong with my brain. I'm perfectly normal." She said in defense.

"Oh, right. That's why you're talking to yourself." He said, glancing over to the wall on his left. Kagome gaped at him. "So now you're saying you don't exist?" She asked in disbelief. He smirked at her. "Of course I wouldn't say that. But to other people, you're a nut job. Face it. They'll shut you up one of these days. Soon." The hairs on Kagome's neck stood up at the thought.

"Shut up, let me continue talking about what I was saying before." Inuyasha's mouth closed. He couldn't open it. His eyes burned and he stomped his foot up and down and shook in his rage. Kagome ignored his tantrum. "Since you're here, I'll never get married. I've realized and accepted that fact. No boyfriends for me." Inuyasha looked at her as if to say, "Damn right." Kagome shifted to a more comfortable position in the large chair. "Since we're going to be together until one of us dies I guess, then we should start being nice. The both of us. I haven't exactly been a saint these past few days. I've been blaming everything on you. Well, everything _is_ your fault, but I should stop being so mad about it, right?"

Inuyasha looked away from her casually. She knew the truth was that he didn't care a cent about what she thought of him or her situation. But she was at least going to try to become...

'_...Friendly..._' She thought.

"It's like my dad used to say," She said openly, staring at him. "All for one, and one for all. We just have to try and follow that." Inuyasha turned his head to look at her. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was more or less sealed shut.

The sound of the door squeaking open caught Kagome's attention. Her mother was in the doorway with the phone in her hand, staring.

"Kagome, I haven't..." She tried to search for what she wanted to say. "I haven't heard you speak about your father in years. I'm sorry if I heard something I shouldn't have but, it just...Touched me a little that you talk about him to yourself sometimes. You were trying to gain some strength from his words?"

Kagome's stared at the floor and nodded. Her mother smiled a little. "It's strange that you don't consider anyone on the planet worthy to hear a word about your dad, but you talk about him to yourself."

She handed Kagome the phone. Kagome's face was a tomato red in her embarrassment. Her mother just made it sound like she held Inuyasha above every other human being on the face of the earth. She knew Inuyasha had heard every word. '_God, how embarrassing..._' She thought to herself. '_I didn't even realize I was speaking openly about my dad. I just...Thought of what he used to say, and said it._' She told herself. Her mind raced at the thoughts Inuyasha might have been thinking after hearing that.

Kagome tried to shrug it off and she put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She called into the phone. "Kagome, it's your aunt Yura." Kagome sighed and leaned back into the chair. Her mother had gone away from the door and was in the kitchen. Kagome remembered her rice in the microwave. She wasn't hungry at all anymore.

"Hey, aunt Yura." She said. "Hey, Kagome." Her aunt Yura replied. "I'm in the airport right now. I should be there in the early morning." She said. Kagome's face lit up. "Wait, you're going to fly over here right now?" She asked. She could hear the smile in her aunt's voice. "Mhm! Like I said, I'll be there in the morning. Help your mother clean up a little, will you? She's lazy these days." Kagome smiled faintly.

"Mmkay. See you then." She said. "Bye, Kagome." Her aunt hung up her phone. Kagome hung up and put the phone on her lap. She felt someone staring at her. She looked to her right. Inuyasha was staring holes into her head. Kagome's face winced. She slowly stood up.

"Listen, about what my mom said...Uh..." Kagome tried to think of what to say. Her mom was lying?

"Kagome, could you bring me the phone? I need to make more calls." Kagome walked out of the reading room and went into the kitchen. Inuyasha followed closely behind her. She could feel him narrowing his eyes at her back. Kagome handed her mother the phone. Her face was serious with thought and she walked past her mother. Inuyasha brushed by Kagome's mother. Her mother's hair moved a little at the small breeze from the movement, but she had no idea of who or what walked past her.

"I need to talk to you." Kagome said just above a whisper once she got to the TV room. Inuyasha growled quietly. "Like you'd have anything I want to talk about." He said, sneering. Kagome sighed, again, and sat on the TV couch. "I feel like our conversation wasn't finished back in the reading room." She said. "Conversation?" He stared down at her and walked backwards until he could lean against the wall lazily. "I don't have conversations with humans. That was you babbling to yourself like you always do."

"See, _this_ is what I wanted to talk about." Kagome said with a wave of her hand. "First of all, even though you've made it..._pretty clear_," She glanced up at him to make sure he was listening. He was at least looking at her. She continued. "I want to know if--"

"Kagome, who are you talking to?" Kagome whipped around at her mother's voice, her eyes wide and scared. "Mom?" She said in a pathetic gurgle of a voice. Inuyasha sneered at her weakness. Such a human as her would have made his head explode in an instant had he met her back before he was sealed. She would have been long dead before she could display the full extent of her weak personality. It wasn't fair to him, not at all. He would never be able to get over the fact that she was so weak, yet so strong against him.

Kagome's mother stared at her hard. She had heard the whole thing. The phone was clenched loosely in her hand. She waited for Kagome's answer with a very confused expression on her ageing face. Kagome stood. "I was...Trying to..." She could hear Inuyasha's chuckling. She knew he enjoyed watching her struggle. "I was talking to dad." Inuyasha's laughter quieted at once.

"Oh...I...I'm sorry," Her mother laughed apologetically. Kagome waved her hand. "Oh, it's okay." She said with a smile. Her mother left the room without another word. "That was close..." She whispered to herself. "I don't get it," Inuyasha said. She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. She waited for him to continue. He stared at her, his gaze hard. Kagome felt her mental physique begin to melt under the pressure. She tried to swallow even though there wasn't any spit to get down. "What don't you get?" She asked, not looking away.

"How can you lie so well, even to those you think highly of?" He asked, a dark smirk spreading across his face.

Kagome bit her tongue on the inside of her mouth. Her mind raced. She was panicking. How could she answer such a question?

"It's because," She drew in a heavy breath through her nose and held it in her chest. No more words came out.

Her eyes danced over the carpet. She didn't want him to know. She wouldn't say it. She wouldn't.

"Let's go for a walk." She said hurriedly. She straightened her long-sleeved shirt and headed towards the door. "Mom," She yelled. "Yes?" Her mother answered in a loud drawl. "We--" Kagome gasped and swallowed her sentence before she could finish it. "I'm going for a walk." She said. "Oh, alright. Don't stay out for too long after dark. And stay close to the neighborhood, too."

"Don't worry, Mom." She said with a yawn. Kagome went up to the door and opened it. She left it open for Inuyasha. He followed her out and closed the door. He didn't want to close the door. Something forced him to. "Don't walk too far away from me, 'kay?" She tried to tell him in a firm voice. It kind of swiveled and cracked near the end and she knew she had been completely unsuccessful.

"Blah, blah, blah," He said with a narrow of his eyes. Kagome ignored his hateful look. The truth was, she had never liked going out at night, even to a friend's party. But she felt that as long as Inuyasha was there, she'd be okay. He had to protect her after all, and lay his life down for hers. Kagome was almost touched at the thought before she remembered that it was against his will.

They walked in darkness with only the dim lights of the street lamps that sparsely lined the roads. Kagome soon led him to the exit of the neighborhood. Once there, she didn't turn around. She continued to walk out into the street. There were no street lights then.

Inuyasha's ears stood up and his eyes glowed in the blackness that surrounded them. He was wary, but calm, as usual. He was also strangely intrigued. Every time he had her figured out in his head she did something to surprise him. Like then. Her mother told her not to be out long after dark. The sun had gone down about five minutes after they left. Her mother told her not to walk far from the house. Kagome had clearly agreed to that. But now she was walking _out_ of the neighborhood,

and going even farther away.

His messy eyebrow curved upwards as he stared closer and closer into the trees that lined the road on their left. As always, his mind was heavy with thought. Could she be the kind of girl to play the innocent act, but really be a seductress...?

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the thought. There wasn't any chance. That couldn't have been it. He smirked at her back. Like she could have been that kind of girl. She was too stupid, too slow. She tried to act smart, but she wasn't. She tried to act brave, but she wasn't. How he longed to punch her...

"Would you like an ice cream cone or something?" He heard her ask softly. He raised his head. "...Ice cream...?" He said the name as if it were foreign on his tongue. He knew that she couldn't see him in the pitch-black night, but she turned her head to look back at him with a smile. "If you like sweet food, you'll love ice cream." She said almost giddily. He glowered. "I love nothing." He said darkly. To his utter surprise, she laughed. He had meant to give the opposite affect. Laughter? He was angry and astounded at the same time.

"Well, if you haven't loved anything before, I'm sure you'll love ice cream." He could hear the smile in her voice. It made him even more angry. "How would you know if I'll love it?" He asked with spite. "Hmmm," Kagome hummed. He waited almost eagerly for her answer. "I guess it's because I haven't met anyone who never loved ice cream." She shrugged her shoulders. "Keh," He glanced around at the new surroundings. They had walked straight along the dark road until they came to what looked like a large square of shops. Hair salon, Nail parlor, Booze n' More, Baker's Goods, Muvi4U...Bright street lamps lit up the entire place. It annoyed him to have such bright lights at night. When the sun went down, it went down. What was the point of holding on to light if it had already gone away by itself?

"The humans in this time surprise me more than the humans of my past." He said, staring around at vivid shop signs. Kagome played with the wallet in her pocket. "Oh, they do?" She said in interest. She grinned. "They got pretty flashy, didn't they?"

Inuyasha's mouth opened. He waited for a moment to speak. "_They?_" He echoed her. Kagome looked over her shoulder at his face. She didn't understand why he had such an expression. Her face painted itself with an offended look, almost snobbishly sulky. Then it was his turn to not understand why she had such an expression. "You...think I'm flashy...?" She asked with hesitance. She stopped walking.

There was silence.

They stared at one another for a few moments. Why was it important? Why did it matter? They asked themselves those questions.

"No," He said finally. Kagome's face seemed to melt back to normal. She smiled. "Heh, I'm one of the plainest girls in school, so for me to be categorized as flashy...Doesn't make sense." She finished with a nod. He hid his arms in the thick black sleeves of his robes. It was a nervous habit. Fortunately for him, people took it as a gesture of impatience. His head pounded. He didn't need to say that she was or wasn't flashy at all, but he did. He was going to tell her that she was flashy and ugly. That she would never marry. That she would never be happy thanks to him. That he would kill all of her friends, or anyone who even spoke to her just because she didn't deserve to be known. But he didn't. Those words didn't come out. Instead, he had told her that she wasn't flashy. He didn't want to think about it but...

Could saying that she wasn't flashy actually be a compliment?

"No," He muttered to himself so quietly that only he could hear. "Not her. Never her..."

His head snapped up when he heard her speak. He had been thinking so much, he was walking without really knowing where he was going. They were at the counter of the ice cream shop. A thin woman with bright green hair stood before them; slouched and chewing old bubble gum. Her name tag read "Spring."

"What'll it be, girly?" She asked in a good-natured smoker's voice. Kagome smiled. "Would you mind telling me what flavors you have?" She asked. Inuyasha twitched a fly off his ear. He stared boredly at the human in front of him. She was by far the most lost-looking human he had ever seen. Green hair? Black eyelids? Earrings lining her ears? And what was that foul-smelling thing she was noisily chewing?

The girl's cheery nature seemed to vanish at Kagome's question. "Chocolate and vanilla." She said in monotone.

"I'll have a chocolate, and uhh..." She glanced to her left at Inuyasha. He flicked his eyes over to her. He would be the opposite of her, he decided. He wouldn't get something she liked and wanted. "The second one." He said seriously. Kagome looked back casually at the woman. "And a vanilla." She said. The woman's black eyelids opened wide. How a skinny plain-looking girl could possibly eat two ice cream cones was beyond her. And how she could maintain such a boney weight was even more beyond her.

"Coming right up," She mumbled. She turned around with a fix of her spiky pony-tail and made her way to the ice cream machine. Kagome leaned her back against the counter and looked up at Inuyasha. There was a sly glint in her eye. He had never seen it before. "You're gonna love it," She whispered with a knowing grin. Inuyasha ignored her and watched with a feigned disinterest as the woman placed a cake cone under a loud, spinning machine. She pulled a lever and a smooth creamy substance came pouring out in even swirls. She topped it off with a swirling flourish and set it on the counter beside her. She then started with another one, but instead of white coming out, it was a deep brown.

When "Spring" was done, she picked up the cones and put them on the counter in front of Kagome. Kagome handed her some money in exchange for a slip of paper and the two ice cream cones. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. It was a strange trade.

Kagome walked for a while towards a building separate from the large square of lit-up shops. Its back was up against another building. It was a brotherly kind of close to buildings on either side of it. It was tall and built with red bricks. It looked old. The windows were murky around the edges and the wooden door showed its old age proudly. Dark green vines curled themselves around the bricks and stretched up and up to almost the top of the building. It was three stories high, but it wasn't that large all around. The sign on the front which looked almost as old as the rest of the building read _Library_.

"I come here sometimes," Kagome said. "I hide back here." She showed walked into the tight alley of the building and went straight on until she got behind it. There wasn't much room back there, and when she sat down, her knees touched the back of the other building. They were closed in on all sides with little space in front and behind them. "Sit down!" Kagome said patting the space beside her. Inuyasha did so reluctantly. It smelled like earth and mold. Kagome handed him his vanilla cone. He took it with a lip raised in a kind of displeasure.

Kagome took a quick lick of her ice cream. Suddenly her face was lit up with happiness. She hadn't looked that happy all day, he thought. He began to wonder why she went out to get ice cream. He wondered why she hid behind the old building that smelled like mud and mist. He wondered why the creamy sweet-smelling thing she licked had made her face turn joyful.

His curiosity got the better of him as she continued to eat her ice cream. He took a strange slow bite of his ice cream and let it melt in his mouth. He moved his eyes away from Kagome so she wouldn't see him. His face was shocked. It was good. It was cold and melted before he could even swallow it. What kind of strange thing was it? Sweet and creamy, but it was liquid. A human had invented it...?

"What do you think I should do about school?" She asked him suddenly. He looked at her but then moved his gaze away quickly. Had she forgotten about the ice cream? Maybe she wouldn't ask him if he liked it. Any person could see that he didn't want her to know. He didn't want something that she offered him to be good. It was so annoying to have to eat something she gave him. But then he remembered

that she hadn't even told him to eat it.

But then why was he eating it? He couldn't stop. "Should I try to get into a new school? It would be impossible to try and work my way back into the old one. I should have just...Made up a whole bunch of illnesses until I could figure out how my days could work around you." He listened to her, but his mind kept wandering. He was making himself sick. He hated her so much, but he was actually enjoying a human food. A human food that she had bought for him, no less.

"I think you should just stay out of school. It's pointless, anyway." He said, still avoiding her face. She sighed. There was a pause like she was thinking about what he said. Her taking council from him? It was impossible for him to imagine. He decided not to answer to any more of her questions. "Well, it isn't that pointless for some people. High school leads to college which leads to really nice jobs. At least that's what I hear." She said with a shrug. "There are always bad stories about drop-outs from high school. They have to work at fast-food restaurants." She made a disgusted face. "Or they turn out like that green-haired ice cream girl back there." She finished with a nod in the direction of the shop that seemed so far behind them.

Kagome with green hair? He bit into the crunchy cone. The ice cream was gone except for the bits trapped in the nooks of the cone. "When I think about it," She bit into her cone. "Maybe I won't need a job. Or even an education..." Her eyes dimmed as her mind wandered somewhere else. A place far away. Maybe medievel times where she would be the traveling warrior with a demon body guard. She'd travel far and wide searching for people in need. She'd be well trained and her and Inuyasha would fight side-by-side, defending citizens.

People back then didn't need educations. Such things were trivial.

"You didn't have a high school did you, Inuyasha?" She asked. She dusted her hands off to brush the crumbs of her completed cone away. She leaned back against the wall and looked at him. He had, unfortunately, finished his cone as well. "No," He said firmly. Kagome smiled. "You're pretty smart though, right?" She said, sounding so convinced. Luckily his hair was hiding his expression. "Of course," He said in arrogance. His face was the opposite. People didn't call him smart. They called him a terror. They feared him. Who cared about how smart he was? No one did. Of course he was smart, but no one looked on that back in his time. It was only about how strong you were.

He watched her grin at his arrogant reply. "So maybe I won't need to go to high school." She said. He narrowed his eyes. "Of course you don't need to go," He said. "But you want to, I can tell." She avoided his stare and looked up at the stars that dotted the black sky. She crossed her arms behind her head and let herself slouch more against the brick wall. "I want to go," She said quietly, staring at the sky. "But not because I want to go to college and have a nice job. It's because..." Her eyes wavered from one star to the next as she stared. He watched her. "It's..." She squinted her eyes in thought as she looked for the words to say what she was thinking.

"Because it's expected of me." She said. Something in Inuyasha's chest winced with such abnormality, that for a second he thought the ice cream cone had made him sick. Kagome lolled head to her shoulder and looked at him. "Did anyone have expectations of you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Yes, he wanted to say. Everyone had expectations of him when he was young. He hated those expectations just as much as he hated the people who expected things of him. He didn't understand why he wanted to tell her. Something about the way she was looking at him and speaking so openly with him made him want to tell her whatever he wanted to.

But he was almost scared at how he could relate to what she said. He had locked those memories and those feelings away decades ago. How did she bring them back up so easily? The hate he felt for her burned and he grit his teeth. She was annoying and troublesome. He couldn't wait until she died so he could go back to killing anyone he wanted and doing whatever he wished to do.

"The only thing people expected me to do was do anything I wanted, like I always did." He said cruelly. She moved her head back up to stare at the sky more. She waited a moment to speak, thinking about his words. "I understand." She said simply. Inuyasha's eyes widened at her words and his blood simmered. He clenched his fists and growled. "Anyone would understand what I just said, even an idiot like you. Why did you say that like you knew something no one else did?" He snapped. Kagome turned her head to look at him. She swallowed and put her hands in front of her. "I was just saying that I understood, that's all!" She said in a rush.

Silence followed after that for a moment or two. Inuyasha relaxed slowly and crossed his arms with a haughty look. "I'm bored now." He said obnoxiously. Kagome sighed loudly and stood up. She stretched and a few places in her arms and legs cracked quietly. She sighed and let her body grow lax. "I guess we should go home, then." She said. "It's gotten pretty late and my mom's probably gonna kill me."

Inuyasha stood and turned the corner to get out of the cramped space behind the building. When they both got to the front of the building, there weren't that many cars or people around anymore. The ice cream shop's lights were off, and so were a few other places. Only a few couples remained near the movie theatre. One or two of the restaurants were still open, but not many people were inside. On a weekend, the place would be more alive. But it was a weekday so it was understandable to not have many people at that time.

"Well, I guess we should go." She said. He followed her to the edge of the buildings until she turned left to get back to her neighborhood. They walked for a few minutes without talking. Then Kagome spoke. "Are you a morning person, or a night person?" She asked. What a random question, he thought. It suited her to ask things so suddenly, though. Before he could answer, she said hers. "I'm a night person, I think. My mother doesn't like the dark, but I do. The sun is too bright. And in the summer, it's a killer. Like, I go outside for five seconds, and I break out in an extreme sweat." She laughed a little.

"Keh," He said looking off at the trees beside them. "It doesn't matter." Kagome slowed so she could walk next to him. "It doesn't matter that I sweat?" She said with a fake cutesy smile. His face got slapped with an alarmed look. He replaced it with face that made it seem as though he were staring at a peasant. "Your jokes are stupid." He said coolly. Kagome's mouth opened.

"Are they?" She asked. He narrowed an eye. "Yes," He replied. "It makes you look three times as stupid." Kagome pursed her lips slightly. "Well it shouldn't matter to you since you like to call me stupid." She said. "The stupider the better, right?" He growled quietly in annoyance and said, "You're beginning to irritate me." He glared off into the trees at the sound of her laugh. Did nothing he say ever make her even a little mad? There were some times, yes, but those outbursts were caused by another person, not really by him. Her laughter was cut off quickly. She was looking for another stupid thing to say, he thought.

"Inuyasha," She breathed. His eyes widened and he snapped his head to look at her. She stood as still as a hunter and didn't appear to be breathing. Her eyes were focused on the sidewalk ahead of her. She looked almost brave, with her arms tensed and ready at her sides. Like she was holding two weapons back. Weapons that wouldn't do much damage to anything, but she didn't look like she believed that.

Finally he looked in front of them. Comfortably far away stood a tall man with a face mask. A medical mask, he realized. What on earth was some evil-looking doctor doing all the way out there? He wasn't wearing white, bloodied clothes, though. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a white skull on the front. Dark blue pants, and grey lace-up shoes. His arms were at his sides in a threatening manner. He stood very still, breathing evenly. Inuyasha's ears raised themselves slowly as he felt the intimidation the man was giving off.

Kagome was scared. Even though she was so scared, she stood very still. Could she possibly know how to defend herself...?

"Calm down, you weakling," He said in a belittling voice. "For a puny guy wearing a face mask you show your fear?" He was offended, quite frankly. Why did she fear humans, but not him? It could only be because she had the comfort of knowing he wasn't able to harm her.

"I can kill him in one swipe of my claws. No, one finger." He said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Tell me to." The idea of killing again was like a warm blanket around a cold beggar's shoulders. To his astonishment, she didn't even answer him. Instead she said in a tone just above her normal speaking voice, "What do you want?" She sounded ready and determined. Her fear didn't show in her voice at all.

The man in front of them began to shake with his quiet laughter. He reached into his pocket and flipped something open. From the distance, Kagome could make out the glint of a knife. The street lamp lit the man and his knife up well enough to give a fearful effect. Kagome held back a gasp and tightened her fists. "I asked you a question." She shouted again. Inuyasha couldn't believe it. If he hadn't been there, would she have been the same way? He didn't know. It wasn't like asking her would answer the question. He was left to think about it on his own.

Even after Kagome spoke to him again, the man kept silent. Inuyasha took a few steps forward. "All you have to do is take a few steps over her, buddy." He said in a deep, amused growl. "Just a few..." He waited like a feral dog, confident in his complete invisibility, waiting for his prey to come just a few steps closer so that he could burst out and destroy him utterly.

The blood in Inuyasha's veins was pumping hard. He couldn't wait much longer, he knew that. He readied himself to bolt. But just before he did, three more men stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the street lamp. Inuyasha's lips parted in his grin. The more the better. As if some unkown power was answering his wish, three more stepped into the group. They were all basically the same. Their clothes were black or ripped with some symbol and they all wore medical masks. Two or three flipped knives out of their pockets.

Kagome cursed her area for being so quiet. Barely any cars drove by down that little street, she knew that. That's why she chose it, because Inuyasha was there. But now she regretted it. Now she felt like, so what if people thought she was crazy?

Inuyasha's head pulsed more and more as Kagome's fear doubled and tripled over again. He couldn't take the need. He wanted to destroy them all. Maybe it was because it had been so long since his last kill. The feeling of flesh splitting under his claws. Hot blood pouring and splashing on his arms and face. The taste of the air after the kill. He smiled at the images of their dead bodies and smiled even more at the possible ways to kill them all.

Then, as if a voice suddenly broke through it all, something wasn't right. He couldn't think of anyone else dying but those men. He tried thinking of killing Kagome. It wouldn't work. He only saw her smiling happily eating her ice cream, or staring up at him in her closet. So he tried that Koga guy. Nothing happened. Once he had the image of how he looked, it would vanish and get replaced with the men in front of him. He didn't understand. He loved killing. He loved it.

Didn't he?

His smiles of pleasure faded and his face twisted in his horrified disbelief. "I'd kill out of annoyance and boredom or if someone got in my way." He mumbled to himself. "To spread fear...I never felt anything...It didn't matter." His eyes were blank in his thoughts. The curse upon him had taken away any feeling he had of killing before and replaced it with a psychotic pleasure for death. But not just any death.

The deaths of people who scared or threatened Kagome.

"Throw us your wallet and all your clothes and we might let you go." The first man they had seen spoke. His grin stretched his face mask and he waved his knife lazily. Kagome's eyes narrowed and a fire burned in them. "Get a life!" She shouted angrily. "If you think I'm gonna do that, you're crazier than I expected you to be." Her voice pounded through Inuyasha's head. He wanted to kill...for her? He couldn't stand it. The need to kill them was tearing his mind in half and making his eyes burn and sting. Soon he wouldn't care who he was killing for as long as he could murder every one of those men. That thought made him even more angry.

"Kagome..." He called in an angry, hoarse voice. Kagome averted her eyes from the men to look at the back of him for just a moment. She returned her gaze to the men. They were whispering to themselves. She took a small breath to speak, but he spoke first. "I need to kill them." He growled. Kagome's eyes moved quickly along all of the men. She didn't understand what he meant, but she didn't want them to die for no reason. "Not yet," She said. "Let's see if we can get away first." She whispered. Inuyasha's growls grew louder over the silence. Kagome's heart pounded at her curiosity of what he was feeling to make him act that way.

"It's all your fault," He growled. "I wish I had stayed in that book." He reached a hand up to his chest and gripped his shirt. Kagome could see him shaking. The arm that was at his side was raised slightly. His fingers were parted and stretched and the claws looked much more threatening than the men's knives. "Inuyasha," She whispered.

"Shut up!" He snarled. "I hate you, I hate you!" He shook his head and staggered forward a few steps. "I don't want to hear your stupid voice!" His voice was loud and angry. His breathes came short and heavy. Kagome swallowed and watched him. Three of the men in the front row began to walk forward with the same pace. Her stomach lurched and she grit her teeth in her mouth. She had no idea of what the outcome would be. Suddenly something else caught her attention. A sound.

Laughter.

It was quiet and choking, but it was laughter none the less. It was coming from Inuyasha. Instead of slouching forward like he had been, he had straightened himself up to his full height. Kagome's imagination raced at what he might look like from the front. If those men could see him, they'd be running like something worse than the devil were at their heels. "This should be fun," One of the men laughed. Kagome stared at them, her worry for her situation showing through her eyes.

"This isn't going as planned." Inuyasha said to himself through his quiet insane laughter. "I'm supposed to help her to her death, not help her to live." The men were close now. Just one more step and they would be in front of Inuyasha. Kagome almost wanted to tell them to run. One of the men took that final step and looked like he wanted to continue walking forward, but he was stopped.

Inuyasha's hand shot out and grabbed his neck. Slowly, he raised the man into the air. Soon he was off his feet and above Inuyasha's head. He squeezed his hand tighter and tighter until Kagome could see blood trickling down Inuyasha's thumb and wrist. "What the--!" The man beside him stared at his floating counter part, completely aghast. The man's face was a deep shade of purple by that point and veins were swollen and thick on his face. His eyes seemed ready to pop out of his head. Then there was a loud crunching, sick and juicy sounding. The man's eyes dulled and Inuyasha threw him harshly to the side as though he were a piece of trash.

"Next one," She heard him whisper to himself in an ectstacic voice. "Quicker."

Inuyasha sprinted forward in one move and thrust his hand into the other man's face. He ripped it out and kicked him away hard. Kagome could hear several bones break at the contact. She put her hands over her mouth. Inuyasha moved on to the next one. All the other men were rushing in with knives and hand-guns ready, screaming their battle cries. Inuyasha took in a deep hissing breath and then let out a war cry of his own. He went rushed in quicker than Kagome had ever seen anyone run before. He targeted the first man they had seen and slammed his hand over his face. It was as if a car had hit him straight-on in the head. The man was smashed back into the concrete so hard, he broke the concrete around him like a cement angel. He was instantly knocked out.

Inuyasha darted left and right and left and right so quickly, Kagome thought of a humming bird of death. His top robe flew off and flapped in the wind before it fell on the ground.

There were screams of terror and shouts of pain and anguish. They were all silenced quickly once they had died. When Inuyasha was finished, he'd move on to a next one. He picked out the biggest guy and sliced his right hand's claws in an X shape along his chest. The man stumbled backwards with a gasp and a cry. Inuyasha jumped towards him to close the space between, but then there was a gun shot. The man behind Inuyasha had shot the spot where he had seen the large man's chest get sliced. He shot two more times.

Inuyasha turned around slowly, his eyes were wide and hid all emotion except delight. The man continued to shoot randomly, trying to find a target. Inuyasha stared down at his chest with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. Three strange holes dotted his right shoulder. He fingered them gently. Blood was being sucked up by his clothes.

Kagome fell to her knees, her hands covering her mouth. Tears flooded her vision. She tried to blink them away so she could see what was going on. Four men were left. One was on the ground screaming at the slash marks in his chest, one was trying to re-load his hand gun, one was trying to get a dead body off of himself so he could run, and on was slashing the air randomly.

Inuyasha let out a supreme canine snarl and finished off the big screaming man with a slash of his thumb across his neck. He smiled and was upon the next man in one quick bound. The man's knees buckled and his gun flew out of his hands. The weight of Inuyasha standing on his chest with his hands grasping his hair caused him to fall on his bum. He screamed in pure fear but was silenced with a quick break of his neck.

Inuyasha cracked his neck and turned his attention to the man struggling to be released from the body that lay on top of him. It was thrown there carelessly by Inuyasha. Kagome stood up and stumbled forward. She shook her head, tears smeared on her cheeks. "No more, Inuyasha!" She screamed urgently, trying to break through to him. Inuyasha walked forward, deaf to her voice. He grabbed the boy by the arm and ripped him out from underneath the lifeless, bleeding body. Several of his bones broke from the sudden jerk. Inuyasha grinned at the fear in his eyes and traced his claws down the man's face slowly. He trembled as the blood spilled down his face and his flesh tore.

"**STOP!**" A voice slashed through Inuyasha's head. He dropped the boy. In a panic, the boy tripped along the sidewalk to stand, and then ran away as fast as he could. The other man that was left followed him, his face white as a sheet.

Inuyasha watched them go. It had mattered so much before, but as he stared at their retreating forms, somehow he didn't care anymore.

He turned around in two steps to face Kagome. She was still where they had been standing. She hadn't moved much. He took deep, even breathes to calm his blood. It was hot and rushing. The adrenaline had passed and he could feel his head growing lighter and cooler. Kagome gaped at him. Blood soaked his thin white robe top. She could see the holes in his flesh clearly through the clothing soaked with blood.

"Inuyasha..." She whispered. He glared at her. "What do you want now?" He asked. Tears spilled down her face and she shook her head, her hands over her mouth. His wounds pulsed. He twitched at the feeling. "Let's just go back to your house." He said. "It smells here." He turned around to continue down the sidewalk, but his left leg gave out under him and he staggered. He caught himself and stood up. His eyes widened at his error. He shook it off and began to walk. He could hear Kagome's footsteps tapping quietly in the pools of blood.

A drop of water hit Kagome's hand. Then another and four more followed. They landed on the bodies of the dead men. They hit the puddles of blood and made deep, velvet ripples. Kagome held back a wretch and tried to keep her eyes on Inuyasha instead of the bodies that surrounded her. A light drizzle was falling then. Her head was dizzy.

This demonic killing machine was under her control, and hers alone.

"What's the matter?" She heard him ask. "Never seen someone get murdered before?" Inuyasha didn't know why he was asking. It couldn't be that he was trying to be funny with her. He was just asking a question, that was all. Kagome sniffed and sobbed quietly. "No," She said in a pathetic gurgle. "I haven't."

Inuyasha grinned. "Did you like it?" He asked jokingly. Rain spilled down his neck and into his clothes. It mingled with the blood. He heard her sob harder so he took that as a no. The rain was coming down harder by the minute. Inuyasha didn't realize it until the rain was coming down hard, but there were slashes in his back from a knife. He squinted an eye at the stinging the rain water was causing. "Keh, that little knife-wielding punk..." He muttered to himself. The bodies were far behind them now.

Kagome looked up to the sky and closed her eyes. She let the water flow onto her face and neck and wash away her tears. She moved her hands down to her sides as she walked. "Are you okay?" She whispered. She directed the question to Inuyasha. He wasn't supposed to hear.

But he did.

"Of course," He said snottily. "I've had more holes in me than this." He stretched his arm out. "It'll heal. This is nothing." After he said all of that, it came to him that it sounded as if he were reassuring her of his health and his condition. The rain came down hard and seeped into his clothes. It washed away the blood and cooled his wounds. He glared over his shoulder. "Something like this is nothing." He said.

Their eyes locked. She smiled, her eyes almost closed. "That's good." She said. His eyes widened and he couldn't look away. It was good? Wasn't he ruining her life? Wasn't he the one who got her expelled? Didn't he just kill all of those men and cause her to see her first murder? Didn't she say that because of him, she could never marry?

"We'll be home soon" She said with a reassuring nod. She held her smile. Rain streamed down her face and dripped from her hair. She pushed a wet locke of her bangs from her face. "I'll bandage you up, okay?"

Inuyasha's heart lurched. Still, he couldn't look away. The rain dripped from his claws and irritated his ears. Kagome smiled as she walked in silence. She wanted him to live? Didn't she want him to die? Didn't it make her happy that he was hurt and bleeding? Wasn't he the one ruining her life?

Inuyasha turned his head forward again. His head kept getting lighter and lighter. It swayed and he shook it off. He just needed to go hide somewhere and sleep. Then he'd be healed and have no problems. He heard Kagome talking to him more, but her voice was fading. It was just a quiet sound in the background. His vision blurred and his knees buckled. Suddenly, everything around him seemed to be swirling. Then it all came rushing downwards. He felt his body crash into the concrete. The rain sunk into his wounds as if to taunt him.

He heard a voice. It was loud. Someone had screamed his name.

"**INUYASHA!**" What did they want? He wanted the voice to go away. It was a loud, concerned voice. He had heard it before.

He heard splashing footsteps grow louder until they were right beside him. He heard the cracking of joints as someone knelt next to him. A gentle, shaking hand caressed his head. A voice was speaking quietly. It was kind and worried. Didn't they know who he was? There wasn't anyone _that_ nice. Who cared about him? He wanted to sleep. But something in his head was turning. The voice was familiar. The only person who had shown they cared for him a little...

Before he blacked out completely, it came to him.

"...Kagome." He whispered.

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__**Insane-san says: **Yaaaay! Another chapter done. I was SERIOUSLY mad because I accidentally hit the BACK button and so most of the last part of this chapter got deleted, and I had to re-write it. It was FINISHED, and then it erased itself. God dangit all. It was perfect, too. If only my laptop wasn't retarded... It was so perfect...I'm such a klutz._

_Anyways, tell me what you think...I added like, so much Inuyasha WTF thoughts in this. I love that idiot. _

_SEE YA NEXT TIME. -wink-_

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	6. Page Six

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__**Insane-san says: **Woah man. Here we go again. More fanfiction. One of my friends the other day was waiting for me and he was like, "What is she doing?" And my sister said. "Typing fanfiction." And he said, "She types fanfiction? She can't type fanfiction. Fanfiction writing is for cool people."_

_WOAH. I was so dissed. :'D But I forgive. He doesn't know me that well. If he read my stuff, he'd be a fan even though he -twitch- hates Inuyasha. n.n_

_SO LIKE. This chapter is pretty much longer than the last one, I think. I honest to God don't plan them to be this long...I thought that this one was like, 8,000 words but when I checked it was exactly 12,000. I burst out laughing... -sneeze- There was one part in this chapter that I didn't like very much...Once I had the chapter all closed off and edited, I didn't really know how to fix the part I didn't like. Hopefully you won't find out which part that was and you'll like the whole thing. o.-  
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_I guess you should get started, then. Drape a crown of flowers over my head for my quick updated. I risked a lot to get this done so fast... -sweat- As always, enjoy the chapter. And review at the end. Ka-ching...Yeah...Uh. -cough- xD  
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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page six.  
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Kagome sniffed harshly. Her nose was running from crying so much.

She walked slowly with litterally the weight of a demon on her back.

"Just a bit more," She mumbled to him in a choked voice. "Just a bit more." She turned the corner around her neighborhood entrance sign. It was more lit up there. She felt much safer. Her heart was pounding from everything that had happened not long before. What would happen when someone saw them? The lifeless bodies of those men... Someone would see sooner or later. Kagome tried not to think about that, she couldn't. She didn't want to. It was too scary to think about the future. '_Just take it as it comes._' She said to herself. '_Focus on the now._'

But "the now" was possibly even more scary than all of the what-if's. Inuyasha's arms hung over her shoulders limply. His head rested on her collar bone. His feet dragged behind her. Kagome's lower lip trembled as she walked. She tried to keep herself moving. It took all of her strength to remain standing and moving. He didn't look that big, but Inuyasha was surprisingly heavy. "You could stand to loose a few pounds." She said with a strained smile. Her sweat mixed with the pouring rain. Thunder rumbled all around her. "Let me guess, it's muscle." Her smile widened and she laughed weakly. She paused and gently moved him farther up in a more comfortable position.

"What am I going to do with you, huh?" She asked him in a heavy breath. She turned right at her street sign. It wouldn't be much longer. She shook her head with a grimace. "Mom's still up." She said. "Probably worried sick. What the heck is she gonna do when she sees me?" She sighed heavily and fixed him up on her back again. "What the heck am I gonna do?" She added. A bolt of lightning slashed through the sky. It was followed closely by another. Moments after, a roar of thunder cut through the smashing of the rain.

"Yeah, that's right," She tried to shout, but she didn't have enough breath. Her voice came out hoarsley. "Mock me, why don't ya?" She could see her house. It was lit up by a street lamp. It wasn't far. Maybe a yard more. Just a yard. Her feet started to drag. She shook her head to wake up her mind. Every once and a while she could feel the warm trickles and drops of Inuyasha's blood on her skin. It trailed down her back and arms. The thought of him being so damaged was amazing and scary at the same time. She had this image of him in her head as being immortal.

Even he could get hurt.

"Gauze and bandages...Long bandages...I know where some are." She said quietly through her breathes. Her voice was mute to the pouring rain. It was thick and grey and made the night even blacker. She tried not to think about the past. Images of Inuyasha slashing his claws followed by blood and flesh flying sped through her mind. He had enjoyed it. "What a nice gift to me." She said grimmly. "How convenient that I'm the only one who can talk to you and make you do whatever I want. Any other person would have fun with that. But what am I doing?" A tear ran down her cheek and was washed away by the rain. "Letting you murder like a psycho."

She stood in front of her house.

The light of the backyard lamps made a halo around the house. It glowed so nicely through the rain. It invited her to come inside. She smiled at it. She wondered how many more times she would be able to go home. "No," She said quickly, holding her smile in place. "I won't think about it. I'll always come back. This is my home." She stared at the steps that led up to her front door. A distraught look inched its way over her face. It would be a bit of a challenge to climb them. She took a few more steps until she stood in front of them. She lifted a foot and grunted as the climbed up. She climbed another and another.

"Finally," She said in a loud sigh. "Phew!" She blinked sweat out of her eyes. "I'd better start lifting some weights 'cause this is pathetic." She gasped and swallowed. She stood there to catch her breath for a moment. What would the story be?

"I was mugged by a gang. Another gang showed up and they both wanted to claim me. So they both fought each other and killed each other. Some got away and somehow I escaped." She smiled a sad, wry smile. "It'll turn out okay, Inuyasha." She said assuredly to him. She tilted her head to her shoulder so that it rest on his head. He wouldn't have to know about that gesture. "I'm used to lying, you know." Kagome said just above a whisper. "So I'll be okay."

She took the last few heavy steps up to the door. She let go of his arm to open the door. Her hand shook and wobbled around. It had just gotten done holding onto something tightly and it wasn't used to being so light. She glared at it as if to will it to obey her. Finally and grasped the doorknob. She turned it, holding her breath. She pushed the door open.

She tucked her lips into the inside of her mouth and took those brave daring steps into her house. She walked far enough in so that Inuyasha was away from the door. Then she put her leg out behind her and slowly closed the front door. The house was completely silent and almost all of the lights were turned off. She could see that her mother's door was closed. She could see the light from the TV glowing from underneath the door. Kagome's breathes quickened and she forced herself to walk towards her room as quick as she could.

She walked past the couches in her family room and finally she was at her door. She opened it as fast and as quietly as she could. Then she went in, closed the door, and locked it.

Kagome's knees shook. Her legs finally understood that they had been carrying so much weight for such a long distance. She dragged her feet to her bed and turned around. She slid Inuyasha onto his back on her bed. "God," She whined. She stood up with a cringe and stretched backwards. Her spine cracked in several places and a strange coolness spread all over. She sighed in bliss and closed her eyes happily. "Finally." She said through a toothy grin. But her smiles faded. Her eyes fell on Inuyasha, back-first and bleeding on her bed. She frowned in worry and went to her bedside.

"You'll be mad when you wake up, but I need to take of your shirt and get you cleaned up." She paused as if waiting for his answer. Kagome laughed a little. "It's weird to think of how much you've done to make my life impossible. But look at what's happening now?" She moved a strand of bloody hair from his face. "I'm taking care of you." She stared at his face for a moment, lost in thought. She snapped herself out of it and went into her closet. She took a box from her shelf down and held it in front of her closely. Her eyes dimmed.

Her pale fingers smoothed dust off of the card board box. She felt a smile coming on, but she forced it to vanish immediately. She walked out of the closet and went to her bed. She put the box on her pink quilt and opened the flaps. Medical tape, gauze pads, ointments, alcohol wipes...Everything she needed. Kagome glanced at her door, afraid that at any moment her mother would come knocking.

She tightened her lips and leaned over Inuyasha. She gently pulled the bottom of his shirt up until it got to his shoulders. Carefully, she took each arm one at a time and pulled them out of the sleeves. She then pulled it over his head. She was careful not to pull out any o f his long silver hairs. The white clothing was soaked with blood and it was still wet. Kagome frowned. That meant he was still bleeding.

"Calm down, calm down," She said, her heart fluttering. "You'll be fine." A tired sigh came from Inuyasha as he lay there, sleeping. Kagome's hands tightened on his bloodied shirt. She wiped rain water from her forehead and went into her bathroom to wash her hands before she started cleaning him up. She flicked on the light, stood in front of the sink, and stared at her reflection. Her face was pale and looked thinner than usual. Her eyes were blood-shot red and she was dripping wet with water. Her black hair shined from being so wet. There were lines and spots of blood on her clothes in certain places. She could feel the sticky blood on her shirt clinging to her back.

Her eyes turned towards to the sink and she began to wash her hands. She had to focus. She had to get her arms cleaned off good, and then she had to get some wash rags and alcohol wipes to clean Inuyasha up. The fear of her mother coming to the door had her heart pounding. "She must have fallen asleep in front of the TV," She whispered to herself as she dried her hands. "So I'm gonna be okay. I'll get by that obstacle. And in the morning, aunt Yura comes." Kagome walked out of the bathroom and went to turn on her night table lamp. She glanced at her digital clock. '_Whoa, past ten..._' Her hair dripped on her clothes and she shivered from the cold. Her skin crawled with goose bumps and she shook herself harshly to make them go away.

She grabbed some rags and soaked them in warm water. She went to her bed and spread one of them out in her hand. She examined his wounds. The bullet holes were clogged with blood and were swelling with a vengeance. "Ugh," Her face paled and she stared at them. She squeezed the rag and the warm water splashed on to Inuyasha's shoulder. The water slid over the wounds and washed blood away. Kagome dabbed them gently and wiped away blood stains. Once the rag was completely red, she used the next one. She washed his arms and chest and stomach. Her face reddened and she picked up the next rag. "You're so lucky I'm being this nice, you idiot." She mumbled.

When all of the rags were used and bloodied, he was cleaned. Kagome tore open a packet of alcohol wipes and smoothed it around the bullet holes. She felt his body tense and she knew it was hurting him. She bit her lip and knew she had to continue. When it was fully cleaned, she grabbed the tube of healing ointment and squirted a drop on her finger. She started at the edges and spread it over the bullet holes neatly. Inuyasha's body stopped being tense and she smiled a little. "Yeah, it's better now that the wipe is gone, huh?" She said to him. "This stuff feels cool. I've used to use it on myself." She said with a nod. After she finished, she knelt beside him and lifted him up slowly so that she could get the bandages around his shoulder. Her hand slid against blood. Her eyes widened.

She pulled her hand away from his back and stared at it. It was coated red with blood. Her mouth fell open and her eyebrows knitted upwards. "What?" She breathed. She held onto his shoulders and turned her head behind him to see his back.

A knife had slashed violently into his back and left three evil-looking gashes. Kagome's mouth hung open and her eyes stung with tears. She had thought he was in worse condition before, but now she was even more worried. Her mind went over more steps to get him healed up. "I need more rags...Wipes..." They went over in her head as she rolled Inuyasha onto his stomach slowly. He was out like a light still.

Kagome went back into her bathroom to get more rags. She soaked them in warm water and went back to Inuyasha. She repeated the same steps that she had with the bullet holes. When she was finished, she breathed a sigh of relief. The wounds had stopped bleeding for the most part. She grabbed his sides and pulled him back over. She sat him up and, while she held him, unraveled the bandages. She pushed some gauze onto the deeper parts of the slash wounds on his back and wrapped them up with the bandages. She wound them around his back as much as was needed. Then she grabbed more gauze and stuck it the front of his shoulder and the back of it to cover the holes.

Her hands pulled the long bandage wrap around his shoulder. She ended it at his side and clipped it there. '_Dad's trusty little clip._' She traced a lingering finger over it. '_Maybe I inherited some of his doctor skills._' She smiled a little but wiped her amusement away. Kagome pulled her top quilt out from under his body as carefully as she could. There was blood and water on it and she didn't want it mingling with his clean body. She put the quilt on the floor along with Inuyasha's bloodied shirt. She pulled him up to her pillows and covered him half way with her blankets.

"Heheh," She laughed as she backed away from him. "Pink sheets...Looks nice on you." Her eyes sparkled. She felt much better after seeing him washed and bandaged. He would be okay. She sighed contentedly and went into her bathroom to take care of her own cleaning needs. She gave Inuyasha one last glance before closing her bathroom door.

Twenty minutes later, Kagome was showered and dressed in her pajamas. She paced her bedroom, her brush running through her slick hair. Her head was a whirl of emotions and all she wanted to do was sleep. Kagome grabbed her hair and shook it to get any last bits of water out. A yawn escaped her lips and she walked over to her bed. She turned off her lamp and stood at her bed side. She wondered if she should sleep in it, or sleep in her inflatable chair that sat in the corner. It was a tough decision.

"I'll just have to pray I wake up before you." She said with a straight face. Her face grimaced at what would happen if he woke up first. She inched her way onto her bed and slept on top of the covers. Sleeping underneath them was out of the question. She had long sleeves and pants, plus her favorite spotted socks. She knew she would be warm without her covers. There was enough space between them so that she would feel pretty comfortable sleeping there. She didn't know what he would think if he had been in her situation. Would he have slept next to her...?

"G'night," She whispered softly to him.

Her eyes closed and she instantly fell asleep.

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Kagome woke with a jolt.

She could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere outside of her room. Her room was dimly lit with just the slightest bit of that strange bluish morning light. Her clock told her that it was five minutes past six in the morning. She blinked at the glowing numbers that glared at her spitefully. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her fists. She yawned and shook her head to wake herself up.

'_Aunt Yura is here._' Her eyes closed as she sat up in her bed. She let her mind take a moment to wake itself up. She took a few slow, deep breathes. She opened her eyes again and looked to her right at Inuyasha. He was sleeping in the exact same spot. His chest rose and fell evenly. '_At least he's breathing normally._' She said to herself with a hint of a smile. She got out of bed with weak legs. She slapped her thighs with her hands. "You had some nasty work last night, guys." She mumbled to them sleepily.

She walked in an old lady-ish sort of way to her bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, and got on some clothes. If she didn't get up then, she would've had to open her door at some point to let the two women in. She didn't exactly want them to see a bloody blanket and shirt along with several bloody rags and alcohol wipes. Not to mention her own bloody clothes that hung out of her laundry hamper. Her medical box sat open on the floor, medical tape hanging out. What a sight that would be to someone.

Kagome slapped her face a little. She was still so tired. And she didn't want to leave Inuyasha alone.

"Here I go." She muttered. Her hand reached out and turned the doorknob. She pulled her door open. Light from the house streamed in. She went out quickly and closed the door so the light wouldn't disturb Inuyasha. She sighed and leaned her back against the door. She tugged at her jean skirt and fixed her white polo shirt. Her leg warmers were too big for her and they were falling down her legs. Her white glittering belt didn't want to stay on, either. She swallowed and walked out towards the living room. She turned the corner and quickly grasped the situation.

Her mother was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea, smiling. '_A fake smile._' Kagome thought. Her aunt Yura sat across from her mother with a glass of cold coffee. Her face was concerned. Her mother was nodding with that fake smile. Then her eyes turned away from Yura and locked with Kagome's. Kagome looked away and stared at her aunt Yura instead. "Kagome," Her mother said in surprise. Yura turned around and her eyes met with Kagome's. She smiled kindly. Kagome's face held the same tired, serious expression.

"Good morning, Kagome." She said. Kagome nodded. "I had a nice flight." She said. Kagome nodded again. For a split second, she had mistook the word "flight" for "fight" and images of last night flashed through her head. A sick shudder almost took Kagome over, but she somehow managed to force it down and make it look like she was shifting weight to her other foot.

"I understand that you were out late last night against your mother's will." Yura said. Kagome lowered an eyebrow and made herself look bratty. "I didn't mean to be. The ice cream shop had a really long--" Her face fell and her eyes widened at what she just said. Her mother's mouth opened. So did Yura's. "I..." Her mother stared with a shocked, hurt look. "I told you to stay close to the house." She said. Kagome looked away. '_Crap, serious error in my excuse story._' She scolded herself.

Yura sighed and stood up. Her eyes examined Kagome deeply and Kagome knew that if she let her walls down, her aunt Yura could see straight into her soul. That's what she did for a living, anyway. Kagome hardened her face. She wouldn't let that happen. At least not then.

"Do I have a zit?" Kagome asked. Yura's face cracked from its serious look and she smiled. "No, your face is normal." She said. Kagome raised an eyebrow. '_Well, at least my face is..._' Kagome's mother stood and took a sip of her tea. Her eyes hovered over the carpet. She opened her mouth to say something. It stayed open for a moment. "I'll leave you two to talk. Kagome," She raised her frustrated eyes to her daughter. "We'll talk after." With that, her mother walked into her room and closed the door.

"Well then," Yura said with a sweet smile. Her eyes were shining. Kagome knew that Yura really did love her. But that was the last thing Kagome wanted. She felt like she needed to break off attachments. '_But that's silly._' Kagome told herself. '_What would I need to break off attachments for?_'

"Shall we talk?" Her aunt's voice was quieter. Kagome glanced at her bedroom door. '_He's fine, he's a stubborn guy._' Kagome nodded. "I guess so." She said. Yura traced her pinky finger over her black eyebrow and looked around the room. "Pick any spot and we'll sit in it, okay?" She said. Kagome sighed through her nose. "Okay," She looked around. Her mother's door was close. She didn't want her to hear anything. Where she really wanted to be was close to Inuyasha, but she didn't want him to hear the noises and wake up. He needed to sleep.

"How about in the drive way?" Kagome said. Yura nodded. "Of course, wherever you're most comfortable."

Kagome walked stiffly towards her front door. She opened it and stepped out. Her eyes landed on blood stains in the concrete. Her eyes widened in shock and she backed up into the house. '_The rain should have washed them away!_' She screamed in her mind. "Never mind," She said, bumping into Yura as she backed up. "I want to talk in the back yard." Yura asked no questions. She simply followed Kagome to the back door.

Once they were sitting at the patio table, Kagome felt extremely uneasy. What did Yura have to say about the story Kagome told her yesterday? Had she already diagnosed Kagome with some kind of insanity after hearing it? She didn't want to think about it.

"So this boy..." Her aunt drawled. Kagome looked up. "Does he have a name?" She asked. Kagome's eyes fell on the table. She stared for a moment. "Yes, he's Inuyasha." She said as if it were so simple. "Hmm," Her aunt stroked the sides of her glass. Her iced coffee was already warming slightly from the morning sun. "The means something like dog demon, correct?" Her aunt asked, staring. Kagome didn't answer.

"May I ask more questions?" Yura asked. Kagome leaned back into the chair. "Yeah, go ahead." She said. Her stomach rolled and she grabbed at it. She was hungry and sick at the same time. "On my drive over here from the airport," Yura took a small breath. "I saw trails and drops of blood lining the street all the way to your house." Kagome's heart leapt to her throat and her hands clenched the chair's arm rests. "From what I could see, they came from the street opposite to me. The longer way to get to your house." Kagome's mouth hung open.

'_So she didn't go that way...She didn't see the bodies._' Kagome swallowed hard.

"Do you know anything about those blood stains, Kagome?" Kagome shook her head hard. Yura smiled and nodded. "I see," She said. "So someone else came all the way to your house just to stand on your doorstep and bleed."

Kagome's eyes filled with tears and she glanced around uneasily at the grass. She made no reply.

Yura sighed. She paused a moment before speaking again. "I want to help you, Kagome." She said. She sipped her coffee. "I want you to be open with me like you used to." Kagome's eyes dimmed. She stared off in the direction of her room. It wasn't easy for her to talk when she kept worrying about Inuyasha. "I know you do," Kagome sighed. "I know..."

Birds hopped along the ground near Kagome's garden. A chipmunk ran in circles chasing another chipmunk. An airplane flew overhead. The sun was rising quickly. Kagome felt the air grow hotter and the coolness from the early morning was fading fast.

"I told you pretty much everything last night." Kagome said to break the silence. Yura looked away from the sky to stare at Kagome again. She glanced down at her glass of coffee and then looked back at Kagome. "Notice how you said 'pretty much'." She said.

Kagome grabbed a fistful of her hair and scratched her scalp. She let her hair fall and she combed it out with her fingers. "I can't tell you." She said quietly. "I don't want you to know." Yura stared at Kagome's serious face. Whenever Kagome had that face, even torture couldn't get whatever secret she was hiding out of her. A sad smile crept its way across Yura's face. "That's alright." She said. "But I'd like for you to tell me about some of the other things that have been happening. Such as why you haven't been eating."

"Who told you that?" Kagome said with a raised eyebrow. "I've been eating fine." Yura shook her head with a smirk. "That's not what your mother says." She said. "Yeah, well my mother says a lot of things." Kagome cracked the knuckles in her fingers and stared off at her window again. What if he was awake? What if he was in pain and couldn't sit up? What if he was calling her and wanted a drink or something?

"Kagome!" Her aunt shouted. Kagome whipped her head back around. "Yes?" She stared. Yura sighed heavily. "That was the fourth time I called you." She said. "Is there something on your mind?" Kagome frowned and nodded. She stared off at her window again. Yura looked from Kagome to the direction Kagome was looking in. "Your room's in that direction." She said. Kagome flicked her eyes over to her aunt's face. "So?"

"So," Her aunt drawled. "Something in your room has you concerned." She pushed her glass away from her and waited for what Kagome had to say. She was interested in what Kagome was thinking those days. She didn't talk to her much anymore and things between her and her mother had gotten pretty serious. Yura felt it her responsibility to patch things up a little.

The story about the demon boy had her shocked. Inuyasha? Kagome couldn't make up a name like that on the spot. Maybe she had made up an imaginary friend to ease the pains of her angsty life. Usually females make up female friends. A woman they can admire and try to be like. Or someone they've always wanted to be.

But a demon boy named Inuyasha?

Yura stood. "If something's bothering you, I'd be glad to go with you to check it out." She said while she nodded. Kagome stood up, too. "No, it's fine." She said quickly. Yura raised an eyebrow knowingly. "We really can go if you'd like." She said. Her reddish eyes bore into Kagome. "I said no, it's fine." Kagome repeated. Yura tilted her head to the side. "If you say so." Yura muttered. Kagome nodded her head once. "The boy, Inuyasha," Yura sat back down. So did Kagome. "Is he about your age?" Kagome chewed her lip in thought. "I don't know," She drawled as she thought about it. "I think so. But he's a lot older. His years are much different, I think."

Yura clenched her teeth to keep her mouth from falling open.

"And he's here with you now?" She asked. Kagome's mouth turned into a straight line. How would she answer that question?

"No, he's not." She said. Yura played with one of her rings. "So he's in your room?" Kagome stared at her aunt's eyes. She always seemed to glow in a kind of wisdom. She thought she knew everything. Her aunt didn't have a clue. "No, he's not there, either." She said. Yura's eyes widened. "Oh, then did he disappear?" She asked. Kagome narrowed her eyes. "No," She tried to finish her sentence but her aunt stood up. "I think you're hiding something." She said. She walked towards the back door. Kagome bolted out of her chair. Yura was already inside, walking towards Kagome's room. Kagome closed the back door quickly and ran after Yura.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked, just under a shout. "To your room." She answered. "It's been a long time since I've been in there." Kagome ran to catch up with her. Yura had long legs and she was a quick walker. Kagome jumped over the couch and stumbled after her aunt. Yura was right in front of the door with her hand on the knob. Kagome shoved her out of the way, opened the door, went into her room, closed the door, and locked it.

Yura sat on the floor with her jaw agape. "Kagome," She whispered in disbelief. "What are you hiding from me?"

_

* * *

_

"Where are you going?" A shout rang out. It was a familiar voice.

"To your room." A strange voice answered the familiar one. "It's been a long time since I've been in there."

A moment later, there was a slapping as though flesh had hit tile. The strange voice cried out. A second later, the door opened and slammed shut. The sound of it being locked was followed by a heavy gasping. It was in the same room as he was.

It took him a moment to warm up his brain.

'_Where the heck am I?_' Inuyasha thought to himself. His body ached. He needed to stretch it out. He tried to open his eyes, but they stubbornly stayed shut. A sweet scent was keeping him calm. He had smelled it all night. It was strong and pleasant. It was stronger once he heard the door slam. His eyelids winced and his ears turned. Something soft was cushioning his body. He could feel a pillow under his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The sunlight stung them and made them water. He blinked it away and opened his eyes more.

His golden eyes were met with a light pink ceiling. He blinked at it. He clenched his fists and let the knuckles crack. Then he relaxed them and glanced down at his body. To his amazement, he was _bandaged_. And if that wasn't enough of a shock,

he was also _clean_.

A soft, sad memory of a voice echoed in his head. "I'll bandage you up, okay?" It said.

'_Kagome..._' He stared at the ceiling. Suddenly it occurred to him where he was. He was in Kagome's room. On her bed. But he had passed out...He remembered that he had passed out completely. How did he get to her house? He thought about it, but for some reason he couldn't find the answer. The familiar voice shouting before had been her. He flicked his eyes over to where the gasping was coming from.

Kagome was curled up against the door hugging her knees tightly. Her head was bowed and thin strands of hair covered her face. She was breathing hard and every once in a while she would shake her head. He stared at her, his eyes wide in fascination.

She said something quietly on a breath. His ears pressed forwards to hear her. "She wouldn't be able to..." She took a breath. "...Wouldn't be able to see anyway." She tightened her arms around her legs. He could see her teeth clench tightly and her nose wrinkled in an angry, sad snarl. "They're all concerned now," She said quietly through her teeth. "But they weren't before. What do they know?" She hissed. "Nothing."

Inuyasha's eyes grew more and more interested. He had never seen her so...So...

Mean.

Her fingers were white and she clenched them tightly under her knees. She shook her head and sighed softly. Her features had grown kinder and her breathing steadied. She loosened her grip on her legs and allowed her arms to crumple at her sides. She lolled her head to her shoulder and wiped the hair from her face. She put it behind her ears. Then he could see her face.

She was crying.

It wasn't the crying of just anyone. Her face was completely calm. Her eyebrows were just slightly raised and the tears streamed down her face slowly. He found himself unable to breathe for a moment.

Maybe he was still asleep. _She_ was _crying_? The two just didn't seem to fit.

A tear splashed onto one of Kagome's knees. That seemed to trigger a kind of realization. She sat up straighter and smeared the tears from her cheeks. She pressed her fingers to her eyelids and flicked away what was left of the water. A small sigh escaped her lips and she swallowed. He watched her stand up and stretch her arms. She remained stretching and stared at the ceiling. Then she let herself relax and she looked much calmer.

Her eyes got a sudden glint in them and she looked over at her bed. Inuyasha somehow knew that was going to happen, so he had closed his eyes ahead of time. But why? He didn't need to feign sleep...That's something a fool would have done. If you were awake, why hide it? A skilled enemy would be able to tell right away unless you were amazing at faking sleep.

He heard her walk over to the side of the bed. She stood there silently. He almost jumped when he felt her fingers push some of his hair away from his face. The piece of hair had dried blood on it, he knew that much. But why would she push it away? It was just hair.

"Don't you dare start acting all cool right after you wake up," She said in a quiet voice. "You need to stay still for once and heal up."

It could have been his imagination but...She sounded as though she was_ worried _about him. He blocked that thought from his mind. He wouldn't let himself think about it. It was one of the stupidest thought to have ever crossed his mind.

He heard her sigh again and she walked to the foot of the bed. She picked something up and went into her closet. He heard her push it on the shelf. She walked out, slapped the dust off of her hands, and closed the door. Inuyasha ground his teeth. It was hard for him to keep his eyes closed. Every time he heard a noise, it was almost a natural reflex for him to open his eyes. But to purposely keep them closed was quite a task.

A knock at the door made the both of them start. He could hear Kagome's heart beat high above his own. She sighed after the shock was over and clapped a hand to hear chest. Inuyasha's head pulsed at her discomfort. He tried to keep a straight face. Kagome went to the door and opened it just a crack. Inuyasha let his eyes open. They set themselves upon the sliver of a woman's face through the crack in the door. Healthy; maybe in her late twenties to early thirties. The eye that was showing was bright and curious but showed a hint of concern. Black hair framed her face in a neat layered bob. "Kagome," She said calmly. Her voice was childish and didn't match her mature look. "You don't have to open the door all the way. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Kagome's hand smoothed the wood on her door. She was hiding a clenched fist at her side. "I'm fine." She murmured.

"Is he in there?" The woman asked. "That boy...?" Inuyasha watched the hand smoothing the wood clench slowly. She nodded. The woman smiled a little at Kagome's response. "Would you mind...Showing me whe--"

"No," Kagome said in a rather loud voice. "I won't." She quieted herself. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. What was there to hide? It wasn't like that woman would be able to see him. Other than him, it was just her room...His eyes glanced around the features of Kagome's room. They landed on the floor by her dresser. A large pink blanket with several areas of blood and bloodied water stains. A pile of several rags thick and red with blood towered next to the blanket. His eyes opened wide. Something inside of him felt strange.

That was his blood? Kagome wiped that off of him? Why?

"I'm trying to believe you Kagome," The woman spoke. Her voice was beginning to irritate him. "But it's hard for me when you keep hiding things. The more you show me, the more I can understand." The woman's voice was manipulating and made her seem so convincing. Inuyasha didn't like it. It was a sweet childish voice. A grown woman shouldn't have had such a voice.

"Annoying..." Inuyasha said under his breath with a glare at the woman.

Kagome bowed her head for a moment and seemed to be thinking. "I just...Don't want anyone in here right now." She said in a hushed voice. The woman smiled and said, "Just for a moment so we can be away from your mother." Kagome stared. She moved away from the door and slowly pulled it open. Yura walked in. Once she was in, she looked around. The only thing to light the room was the sun seeping through the curtains of Kagome's one window. It was mostly dark, no lights were on. Her eyes fell on the pile of blanket and rags.

She gasped a little and looked closer at the blood stains. "Kagome..." She whispered. "Who's blood...?" Kagome frowned with a serious face and stared. "His, and...No, just his." She stopped herself before she could give too much away. She wanted to hide it, he thought. Hide the fact that he had killed those people the night before. How long did she think she could live without someone finding out? The thought amused him.

Kagome wrung her hands together and looked at the floor nervously. She certainly seemed like she wanted the woman's respect...But why? There wasn't anything particularly special about her; Just another ordinary human female. The woman picked up one of the rags. Most of it was dried and crunchy, but the middle was slightly damp. She poked at the blood with an amazed expression.

"It's so thick..." She whispered. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. '_What the heck is that suppose to mean?_' He thought.

The woman knelt close to the blanket and stared at the blood and water stains. "He bled so much that water came out?" She asked. Kagome put a hand behind her head and focused her eyes on the blanket. "No, that's water from me. Eh, from the rags, I mean."

She looked at Kagome with a soft look upon her features. "This is real blood." She said. "Would you mind if I went to have DNA samples taken from it...?" The sound of Kagome's heart lurching touched Inuyasha's ears. He didn't know what the woman was talking about, but it obviously wasn't advisable in Kagome's mind.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said. She flipped around with a start, her face showed all her surprise at hearing his voice. "Make that woman leave." He commanded. Kagome's face almost looked guilty. She bowed her head a little and looked around the room to try and find something to say. "Aunt Yura, I think you should leave." She said. So the woman was a family member...How close was she to Kagome?

The woman, Yura, stood up. "Why?" She asked. At the change in Kagome's heart rate, Inuyasha could tell she didn't like being asked the question _why_. "Because...He doesn't think you should be here anymore." She mumbled.

"Where is this _Inuyasha_ guy anyway?" She asked. Inuyasha raised himself up in a sitting position slowly. "Right over here, you crazy wench." He said with a grin. Kagome glanced over her shoulder at him. She obviously didn't see anything funny about the situation. Somehow to him, the whole thing was amusing. He was in a good mood for some reason.

"He's on my bed." She said. Yura looked at the bed and her eyes hovered over it. "I think she's checking me out." Inuyasha said with a smirk. Kagome's eyes widened as though she were insulted. She looked at Yura. "You should leave, okay?" She said. "I'll be out in a minute." Yura didn't look like she wanted to hear any of it. "We're close, right Kagome?" She asked. Kagome bowed her head a little and looked away. She looked like she was almost sulking. "I guess." She said. Yura placed that warm smile on her face again.

"Remember how we used to go to that hotel pool all the time?" She said excitedly. Kagome sighed through her nose and crossed her arms. "Yeah, and I also remember how you left me when I was stuck in that water slide just so you could answer your cell phone."

Silence.

Yura laughed lightly after a while. "I've apologized a lot for that incident..." She said stiffly. "Whatever," Kagome said with a wave of her hand. "It's--"

The woman wouldn't pay attention. Her head would focus on one thing, and then flutter off to something else almost instantly. She was back to looking at Kagome's bed. She walked up close to it and stared. Inuyasha sneered at her. What gave her the right to look at him so much? A growl escaped his lips. "Stop that," Kagome said calmly. "She can't see you anyway." The growling he was letting off stopped right away. He tried to snarl, but he was silent. A frustrated vein swelled on his temple.

"What's he doing?" Yura asked. Kagome picked at the bottom of her white shirt. "Venting." She said simply. Inuyasha whipped his head around to glare at her. Kagome felt the full impact of his anger. She swallowed quietly. "Don't talk about me as if I were a child." He snapped. "You haven't even been born yet compared to how old I am." He had meant to make her mad but to his angry shock, she put her hands up and said, "Please don't get mad! This isn't a time for you to be stressed!" His jaw fell open. "You could make yourself bleed again." She said with a concerned frown.

"So he's badly wounded?" Yura asked. There was a swift change in her emotions. She looked worried. Inuyasha glared at her. "Make her go away right now or I'll make you look like a complete fool." He threatened darkly. Kagome's eyes widened a little. Something inside of the grey orbs sparked. He raised an eyebrow. "Like I don't already look like a complete fool." She said flatly. "Don't order me around, either." Inuyasha dug his claws into Kagome's bed. "Fine, I won't! Not that I have a choice! I hate this woman. I don't want her here anymore!" He said angrily.

"Yura, please leave." Kagome said. She ignored the look on her aunt's face as she left the room. Kagome closed the door with a sigh. She stood there for a moment and then turned around. It was as if when her aunt was there she had a belt on that was ten sizes too small. But once her aunt was gone, so went the belt along with her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. She was completely different once her aunt was gone. "How am I doing?" He echoed her as he tried to hide his confusion. "I told you before, something like this is nothing." She smiled a little. She looked relieved. "Are your bandages uncomfortable or anything? Do you need them changed? Do you want to take a shower?" She pointed to her bathroom. Inuyasha's mind went blank. He didn't understand her at all. It was so frustrating. It was always so easy for him to read any human on the planet.

But she was different.

"I'm fine." He said. He leaned back against her headboard and crossed his arms. "They're mostly healed anyway." He said. Kagome nodded and said, "The gel probably helped, right?" She smiled and waited for his answer.

"...Gel?" He stared at her with an emotionless look. Kagome put her hands in the pockets of her jean skirt and nodded. "I have this box of medical stuff my dad gave me and there's a big tube of this healing ointment stuff." She said. Inuyasha let his arms uncross themselves. "So what you're saying is," He blinked. "You cleaned the blood off of me and stuck some gel crap on these scratches?" He asked blankly.

She nodded and said, "Before that I had to wipe them down with alcohol wipes. I don't think you liked that part very much because you got all tense and stuff." Inuyasha was glad at that moment that her room was so dark. He didn't want her to see how the color of his face had changed. "Those wipes sting." She said while she nodded in understanding. Inuyasha took a breath and tried to change the subject away from the thought of Kagome smoothing a cloth all over his body to clean the blood off.

She had taken off his shirt, too...

"Are you hungry at all?" She asked. He was glad she had changed the topic. He needed some time to compose his thoughts back to hating her with all of his being. "No." He said. "Are you thirsty, then?" He was, but he didn't know if it was okay to admit it. Before he could say anything she said, "I'll go get a glass of water real quick." She went into her bathroom. He heard the sound of running water. A second later, Kagome was at the side of the bed handing him a purple glass of clear water.

He took it from her and stared at the water that swirled around inside. The coolness came through the glass and transferred to his finger tips. It was tempting, but he didn't want to drink in front of her. No, he couldn't. It would be like the night before when he had accepted the ice cream cone. Accepting things from her wasn't right. He'd throw the glass on the floor and curse at her for being so insolent as to think he'd accept anything from her. He'd call her a pathetic mortal along with a few other harsh names...

A moment later, the water was sliding down his throat. Kagome just stood there flipping through a book titled _Becoming a Doctor_. Inuyasha allowed himself to let go of hiding his thirst and gulped the water down noisily. When he was finished, he held the glass in front of himself and took a few quiet, even breathes. He was still thirsty. Kagome looked down at him. "Do you want some more, or are you done?" She asked him. He stared up at her through his bangs. He didn't know what he would say. Since he hesitated for so long, it was almost like Kagome knew he wanted more. She took the glass and went to her bathroom.

His pupils were paper thin. Was it so easy for her to read him? Wasn't he doing a good job of hiding whatever feelings he wanted to hide?

She came back with the glass full to the brim. She handed it to him with a smile and said, "Here ya go." He grabbed it quickly. For a spilt second, their finger tips touched. His heart jumped and he ripped the glass away from her. He bowed himself over the glass and knew his hair was creating a nice shield around himself. The sounds of the pages turning in Kagome's book filled his ears. He stared at the water in the glass, his eyes wide. He narrowed them and drank again. '_This seal is worse than I thought._' He hissed to himself. '_If I didn't have this curse on me I would have sliced her head from her neck. That was the price anyone else would pay for touching even my finger tips._' He kept his eyes narrowed while he remembered back when he practically used to rule the world. '_The only thing I could do was pull my hand away. It was the result of not being able to hurt her because of this stupid curse._'

He finished his water and his eyes wandered down to his bandages. They crossed around his stomach and came up around his shoulder and part of his chest. His hand tightened on the glass and it began to shake in his hand.

"Are you still thirsty?" She asked. He looked up. "No." He hid his emotions. Kagome reached for the glass. Inuyasha stuck the end of the glass out so that there was plenty of space between their hands. She took it and went to her bathroom.

Inuyasha fingered his bandages lightly.

Kagome came out of her bathroom with a sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do from this point on. I think when you're healed I'll go to the school and find those guys." Inuyasha's nose wrinkled. "Why?" He asked in a beating-around-the-bush way. He bit his tongue. What on earth was he asking _why_ for? It was her business. He didn't care at all what she did. Asking that question was a mistake. A horrid mistake.

"I think because...That's one of the only things left that I want to look into. I was kind of interested." Something inside of Inuyasha's head became very clouded but it also became very clear. "Interested?" He asked quietly. His tone was dangerously low compared to his normal voice. Kagome didn't notice. He pretended to examine his claws. Kagome nodded with a finger to her chin. "Yeah. I thought it would be interesting to join their group for a while and see what it's like. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't care if I was in school or not."

Inuyasha's head cooled and he relaxed his shoulders. "Keh...It sounded stupid to me." Kagome smiled crookedly and crossed her arms. "You might be used to crazy stuff, but I'm not. If you were a normal student at my school and you knew what people would say about those guys, you would've jumped at the chance to join them if they asked you." Inuyasha sneered. "I wouldn't have. Such tedious things aren't worth looking into."

An exasperated sigh left Kagome and she went to her bookshelf to put the medical book away. What had she been looking through it for, anyway? "Well you're you, and I'm me. I want to meet up with them one more time and see how it goes. I don't care what they think anymore." She said. She stood up straight and looked at her watch. "I feel like the day has forever to go." She said with a frown.

"Uhh..." Inuyasha stared at the door of Kagome's closet to occupy his eyes. Kagome looked at him. Inuyasha clenched his teeth in his mouth and tried to voice the question that begged to be released from inside him. It took a while, but Kagome was patient and waited.

"How did I get here?" He blurted out. His eyes shot open at his blunder. He had completely lost his cool when asking that last question. It came out like a poor man asking his employer for a small raise in his payment. Quick and stupid.

To his surprise, Kagome looked more embarrassed than he felt. She twirled a lock of her inky hair around her finger. "I had to carry you here." She said. The stunning blow that had given him caused his walls to drop. The shock was too great to hide. He stared at her, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, ears back. "Wha-What are you looking at me like that for?" She said with a nervous laugh. "I did what any normal person would have done." She mumbled.

No, she was wrong. A normal person would have taken the opportunity to kill him. He was passed out and more injured than he wanted to admit. On top of that, he was loosing a lot of blood. A normal person would have carried someone twice their size to their house? And then put them in their own bed, clean them up, bandage them, and make sure they spent the night safely?

She actually _wanted_ him to get well.

"Keh," He looked away with a cocky air. "I didn't need any stupid bandages, and I sure didn't need to be carried. You wasted your time." Kagome's mouth fell open and she put her hands on her hips. "I went through all that trouble and this is how I'm thanked?" She shook her head in an insulted disbelief. He glared at her. "I'm not human. I wouldn't die from something like this." He said. Kagome frowned and crossed her arms. She looked very angry. "I was just trying to repay you a little! It's not like I actually cared!" She blurted out. Her face had reddened in embarrassment. Inuyasha bared his fangs. "So what? I'm saying you wasted your time. I saved you against my will, remember?"

"Fine!" She shouted. Her tone was hurt. "I'll just go eat lunch." She spun around and left the room.

Inuyasha clenched his teeth in irritation and pushed himself away from her headboard. He stared at her pink ceiling. The sunlight was at its brightest. His gaze hardened and he took a deep breath. Something in the corner of the room caught his eyes. A shirt hung out of Kagome's laundry hamper. It was covered in blood all over the back. He knew it was his blood. That was the only other scent in the room besides the scent of Kagome. She had carried him all the way home on her back.

His head was driving him crazy. He couldn't make it calm like he usually could when something had disturbed his thoughts. The more he tried to calm it down, the more his mind would disobey him. "Why would she carry me all the way here? She hates me." He pressed his mouth into a line. "I've ruined her life." He said under his breath. He narrowed his eyes slightly. He could hear Yura's voice from outside the room. It was coming from the kitchen. Kagome would reply quietly every now and then. She didn't sound like she cared for much of what her aunt was saying to her.

"Then the both of you could come to my house if that's how you want it." Yura said loudly. "Your mother needs time to cool off, and you need time to cool off, too." There was a loud slamming of fists against a table. It was so hard, the door to Kagome's room trembled.

"**WHAT DOES SHE NEED TO COOL OFF FROM?**" He heard Kagome scream. His eyes widened and he sat up. She was the one who slammed her fists against the table? _That_ hard? "WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS GET THE PITY? SHE'S THE ONE WHO MADE DAD LEAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" She shrieked. "Kagome." Yura said strictly. "Don't _ever_ talk about your--"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER!" She shouted. There was the sound of a glass being slammed down onto a table. "You're right!" Yura said just below a shout. "But your mother's probably in he room crying by now. You should be so ashamed of yourself, Kagome. All you've done since your dad left is cause problems for your mother!" Inuyasha could hear Kagome crying all out. His ears flattened. He had never heard her cry in such a way.

"I don't want to make you sad, Kagome." Yura's voice was quieter. "But you need to realize that your dad's gone and your mother's here." She said. The sick seething of Kagome echoed in his head. "My mother died the minute I entered her womb." She said venomously. Yura tried to speak but Kagome just yelled, _BLAH, BLAH, BLAH _to drown her voice out.

Inuyasha heard Kagome's footsteps coming towards her room. He held his breath and looked around as if to find a place to hide. Then he stopped and sat up straight. "I have no reason to hide." He said with arrogant raise of an eyebrow. He looked to the door and watched it fly open. It slammed into the wall from opening so hard. The brilliant silhouette of Kagome stood in the door way. Hair was stuck in the tears that ran down her cheeks. Her mouth was shut tightly and her eyes glowed with fire. An orange bag of something trembled in Kagome's hand violently. She walked into her room and slammed the door hard.

The first thing she said through her angry breathes was, "Sorry for shouting."

He pulled some dried blood out of his hair. He tried to seem like it didn't phase him. She walked to the far end of her room and sat in a plastic chair that looked like it was filled with air. She sighed heavily and rubbed her arms over her eyes. She licked tears off of her lips and ripped open the bag. Another tear fell down her face and she wiped it away. "You can have some of my chips if you want." She said. He blinked and watched her pop one of them into her mouth. It crunched loudly and she swallowed it.

"Your lunch is a bag of chips?" He asked. A smile somehow found its way to Kagome's face. She looked at him. He didn't know what he did to make her smile, but he was somewhat relieved she wasn't giving off such an air of rage anymore. "I haven't been very hungry lately." She said. "Why not?" He asked with an eyebrow raised in carelessness.

"Well if you really want to know," Kagome sighed. "It's all your fault." He narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "So I'm being successful in ruining your life?" He asked. Kagome stared at her bag of chips. "I guess you are." She said simply. He chuckled darkly and leaned into her headboard. "Good..." He said. "But," Kagome said. He looked at her. What could she possibly have to say after that?

"Don't forget," She looked at him. Grey locked with gold and they almost had a staring contest. "I'm ruining your life, too." The dark smile she gave off after that made him freeze inside. She was right. Completely right. She was succeeding at the same rate he was. But who would win? He wouldn't let her make him completely miserable...He would have to get her back for the bandages. That had left a definite impression on his mind. He would have to do something to her to make her completely crazy with frustration or something.

"Hey," She drawled suddenly. He glanced at her. She waited. Seconds passed. She gazed out the window. "Do you..." She took a breath and closed her mouth. "Spit it out." He said impatiently. She glared at him. "Well maybe I won't tell you then." He sneered. "Well maybe I didn't want to hear it in the first place." He snapped. Kagome clenched teeth. "I was trying to ask you something and you totally threw me off. Why do you have to do that?" She asked in agitation.

"Be quiet, will you?" He said with a shake of his head. "Your voice makes my head ill." He fell backwards onto one of her pillows and squinted his eyes closed. She groaned in frustration and slapped a hand against her forehead. "Fine, I'll be quiet." She mumbled. "Good." He said arrogantly. Kagome stood and raked her hair out with her fingers. In that position, Inuyasha realized how thin she was. She was very bony. Human guys weren't attracted to such bony women. He didn't see how she would have gotten a boyfriend even without him there.

A minute passed and he realized that he had been staring at her the whole time. He looked away. "Let me know if you're hungry, okay?" She asked as she pushed her clothes farther into her hamper. He didn't want to answer, but she had told him to. He tried to swallow it down deeper and deeper but it came out. "I will." He said. She smiled. He mentally kicked and slashed himself. Then he mentally kicked and slashed her.

"As soon as these wounds heal..." He said quietly with a narrow of his eyes. Kagome glanced at him. "You say something?" She asked. He glanced away coolly. "Nothing at all. You must be hearing things with those ugly ears of yours."

"UGH! What was that? Ugly ears?" She turned around to face him. He didn't bother looking at her. "Didn't you hear me the first time?" He asked. He yawned and blinked at her bookshelf. "I did hear you the first time." She said with a cross of her arms. "But you shouldn't say mean things like that to me or anyone else. It's hurtful." He turned to look at her with a smirk. "Well good," He said. "I'll say things like that to you all the time because it hurts you." She bit her lip and tensed with anger. "I can just stop you from saying those things." She said. Inuyasha sat up at crossed his legs underneath himself. "Not if I insult you first." He said.

Kagome's mouth fell open at the challenge. "I order you-"

"Bony." He said. Her eyes widened. "I am not bony!" She said with a frown. He couldn't believe it. He grinned. It was too easy to play her with insults. "Yes you are." He said. "Just look at yourself. Skin and bones." Kagome put an arm in front of herself. "Well," She drawled as she stared. "You...You're fat!" She yelled. His arms fell limp and he raised an eyebrow. Anyone in the world could look at him and say that he wasn't fat in any way, shape, or form.

"Me? Fat?" A smirk found its way to his face. "Not only are you hard of hearing, but your eyes are clearly bad as well."

When she didn't look angry, he knew something wasn't quite right. She leaned her weight to her right leg and smiled a little. He tried to keep his eyes from widening. "My back is killing me and my legs were trembling this morning." She said. "You're ten times heavier than normal. You might need a doctor to help you with your overweight issues." She smiled cutely and stared at his shocked face.

He had nothing to say to that. He had just finished blocking those thoughts from his mind before, but she had brought it all back.

"Don't you get it?" She asked. His eyes narrowed and he showed his teeth. She smiled. "I can beat you in an argument any day."

"OH YEAH?" He pushed himself forwards in a position that made it obvious he was prepared to stand and face her challenge. "Well I can beat you in a verbal argumant AND a physical argument!" He shouted. Kagome grinned. "No you can't." She laughed. He jumped out of her bed. "Oh, wait! Don't stand up! You--" He cut her off by ripping off the bandages. He staggered backwards as he tried to rip them away from his body. He threw the clip that held them together and he tore the bandages to pieces. To Kagome's obvious amazement, what was left of the bullet holes were three tiny spots of scab. He turned around to show off his back.

It looked as though someone had taken a fork with wide-apart prongs and scraped it along his back just enough to break skin. But other than that, it wasn't swollen or bleeding and it was barely scabbed at all. Kagome gasped as she stared. "That's amazing!" She said with what breath she had left. He smirked in his sudden flood of ego. "I told you before." He said. "Those were mere scratches."

He crouched over, tensed his claws and, with a dangerous narrow if his eyes, signaled that he was ready to face her challenge.

"If humans healed like that, then-" She tried to say. Inuyasha cut her off. "Then they wouldn't be human."

She frowned. "I guess you're right." He sneered. "I'm always right. You should get used to it." She made no reply. She just looked around her room in thought. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed and played with the silver bracelet that hung loosely from her wrist.

She was completely ignoring him.

"Well, I guess we could go to my school now. Since you're well. Maybe those guys are hanging out there." Kagome said with a thoughtful expression. "Like I could care." He said flatly. Kagome sighed and shook her head. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh, your shirt's still dirty...I haven't had a chance to wash all of our bloody stuff yet. I'll do that tonight. But anyway, you could get on this big sweater I have. It's in--"

"_YOUR_ SWEATER? Spare me." He said loudly. She put her hands on her hips. "Fine, then. Run around with your shirt off." She turned around and went into her closet and got out a blue jean jacket. Her back faced him as she put it on. The wheels in his head were turning. Somehow, the thought of himself running around topless wasn't exactly nice inside his head. But her sweater? He couldn't do it. It was probably girly and pink. "It's your loss," She said with an air of uncaring. "Not mine..." She buttoned a few of the buttons on her jacket. I'll just head to the school with a topless guy behind me...His shoulders dropped and he consented. "Show me this...Sweater." He said.

Just asking to see it wouldn't do any harm...

She grinned and went to her closet. She pulled it down from the hanger and burst out of the closet with an excited face. She was beaming with an enormous joy. "Here it is!" She laughed. His eyelid twitched as he stared. It was a small pink jacket. He twitched.

Kagome burst out laughing and almost fell over the harder she laughed. Tears glittered on her eyelids. She grabbed at her ribs and choked. "You should have...Seen your face!" She wheezed through laughter. Inuyasha's mouth hung open. What kind of sick sense of humor did she have? One minute she was serious, then she was uncaring, then she cared and worried, and then she was a comedian.

He just didn't get her.

"Okay, okay," She chuckled a bit and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Seriously now." She went into her closet and put the jacket away. She pulled something else out and came out with a calm smile. She held up the article of clothing.

He could tell instantly that it was much too big for her. It was a black, soft-looking jacket with a hood at the back. The front was decorated with a bright white skull. He raised an eyebrow. "You have something like this in your closet?" He asked blankly. Her cheeks colored a little and she nodded. "It's uhh...A long story. Anyway, if you can stand to wear it until I wash your shirt, then this is all I have." She said. The thought of him wearing anything that belonged to her was extremely displeasing, but it was better than nothing, he decided.

"Keh, fine." He took it from her and slipped it on as she put her shoes on. She kicked the toes of her shoes against the floor and straightened her jacket out. She smiled at him. "Hey, that doesn't look too bad." She sad. He blinked. Realizing that his mind had blanked out, he shook himself mentally and glared at her. "Whatever. If you wanna go somewhere, then go." He crossed his arms. She grinned and nodded. "What are you smiling so much for?" He shouted with a flash of his fangs. She spit out her tongue and scratched the back of her head. "It just makes you look like a normal kid from today, y'know? Sorry for staring." She opened her door and walked out.

A normal kid from her time? She had to be mad...

"C'mon." She said brightly. He followed her out the door.

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_**_Insane-san says: _**_And so ends another chapter. I actually basically had this whole thing finished about three days after I posted the last one. I had a little bit of trouble closing this one off at the end...My sister was like, "Just end it. End it. Finish it. Don't worry about how it ends. Just end it." So I thought about it and decided that if I didn't end it, the chapter would go on forever. Anyways, I got more into Kagome's past. You'll learn more about it later. She actually has a surprisingly dark past, but I won't give away too much. ;p Inuyasha's gettin' a little fuzzy, ne? So hit me with a review. Or twelve. Like you lovley people always do. I actually just learned that you can reply to peoples' reviews if they leave a valid e-mail address. If you guys want me to acknowledge you and reply to your reviews, just say the word in the form of (what else) a review. HAH. See you guys.  
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	7. Page Seven

_**Insane-san says: **Weeee, chapter sevennnn. -grin- You readers seem to love this fanfiction, so I'm sure I don't have to pray that you like this chapter. There were some real issues with this chapter for me. I had it finished. Finished. But then guess what I did?  
I went back and deleted more than half of it._

_Why? I wasn't happy with it. That's happened to me a few times...I think it's because I write too fast. I need to really plan things out before I get into them. So I spent a lot of time doing that for this chapter and I'm pretty happy that I went back and did that._

_And after that, I just got so hooked on Oblivion. Every day when I go on the PC I think, 'Okay, today's the day I finish that chapter. It's almost done. I'll just do that.' And then I see the little Oblivion icon on my PC...And my finger...Moves on its own...and I click it. o.o My bad? n.n;  
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_Anyway, I changed Kouga's name to Koga. In Japanese, when you spell Kouga, the O is prolonged with another character. So you say the O in a kind of slow way. Basically, kOUga. But you don't say a U sound, you just say O only longer...It confusing, I know. If you try it a few times with that pronunciation you'll probably see what I mean. So I decided to adopt the American way to spell it and now he is Koga. :) I'll try to keep the updates rollin' in smoothly. n.n 'cause after this, there's no more writer's block 'cause I know exactly what's gonna happen. So hopefully, the next chapter will come out sooner than this one. :3 Enjoy.**  
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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page seven._

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"So then she starts cussing at me and I'm like, 'Who do you think you are, lady?'"

Inuyasha walked next to Kagome. His black hoodie with the goth skull billowed in the late afternoon breeze. His feet were bare and his baggy black pants crumpled over them. His silver hair cascaded down his back and swirled around him occasionally in the wind. The shock of gold that were his eyes moved constantly over everything in front of him. He was truly a dark figure to anyone else if they were to see him. Human instinct would tell anyone who saw him to run.

Standing next to him was a bony black-haired girl with very clean clothes and grey-blue eyes. Her over-sized blue leg warmers sagged down her legs, but that was the only flaw in her clean look. She tugged at her white fitted polo shirt every now and then, and her jean skirt was stiffer than most normal skirts. It had a blue jean jacket to match. She had an intelligent face, but her eyes were distant. It was plain to the eye that the two just didn't seem right together. Yet they walked next to one another in an almost intimate fashion.

Meanwhile, Kagome raped Inuyasha's ear with random stories. She was so quiet sometimes, but then she would flip into a babble monster. Sometimes she dragged on and on. Other times, she got straight to the point almost shockingly fast. But it really didn't matter. He wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. "Over a carton of milk?" He asked boredly.

Well, maybe he was paying attention. But he couldn't help it. It wasn't like he could force himself to go deaf.

"Yeah!" Kagome replied and continued her story. He remembered the road to Kagome's school and knew they were getting close. Somehow she had managed to get out of the house with a quick, "I'm going out for some air," and then just leaving. She surprised him here and there. He could never get used to her twists and turns of emotions and attitudes. "So uhhh..." She paused briefly in her walking and then continued. "What was I saying again?"

Inuyasha turned his head to stare at her with a look of eerie, shocked disgust. "You lose track of what you're saying?" He asked quietly. She flushed and smiled nervously. "Well, I have a lot on my mind these days so...Umm..." She glanced around, looking for something else to talk about it seemed. "Ah, see my school? Well," She paused to correct herself. "What _used _to be my school." Her face grew nearly emotionless and she raised an eyebrow at the building in the distance. "Should I tell them you exist right out?" She asked without looking at him.

"Who am I, your bloody mentor? Figure it out for yourself." He glared at the building ahead of them. He couldn't tell if the boys were there or not. "Fine, fine." She waved a hand. They got to the front gate of the school and paused. Kagome fingered the bottom of her shirt and flicked her eyes over the school grounds. It was very quiet and still. But then there was a break in that silence.

It was the sound of someone opening a bottle. It was loud and it echoed. Kagome sighed with relief and walked into the school yard. Inuyasha followed with a bored look. "It might be fun." She whispered. "If they still like me after I tell them everything, then I can come here to hang out and stuff." She smiled a little. Inuyasha smiled broadly. "Yeah, and then you can throw happy tea parties and wear pink dresses with frills!" Kagome glared at him. "Maybe we will." She said with a pouting face.

She turned the corner to get behind the school. The change in climate washed over Inuyasha. The air was cold and there was a constant wind. It was even worse than the last time he had been there. In front of them not very far away were the three boys. They were grinning about something and drinking from frothing soda bottles. Manten said something and Hiten and Koga spit out their soda and burst out laughing hysterically. Manten joined in with them. Inuyasha curled his lip back.

Kagome wanted to hang out with _them_?

Abruptly, Kagome cleared her throat a little. The laughter died down and they all looked towards her. The air went silent and no one spoke. They simply exchanged looks. Then Hiten jumped out of an inflatable chair and spread his arms open. "Welcome!" He shouted. Kagome flushed a bit and scratched the back of her head. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her weakness. Koga sat up straighter on his throne box and stared at her. He stared a little too long in Inuyasha's opinion. He struggled hard to bite back a growl. What was it to him if someone stared at her?

"We heard you got expelled." Manten blurted out. Hiten threw back his head with a laugh. Manten clapped and laughed with him.

"Shhh," Koga hissed. They were silent instantaneously. Koga looked back at her regally and put an arm on top of his raised knee. "What brings you here?" He asked. Kagome stared at the grass and tugged at the hem of her shirt. "I'd like to..." She looked up and looked at the three of them. "...Tell you...About some things." She said. They stared at her with serious faces and waited. A moment or two passed and Hiten suddenly said, "You can sit down." He waved an arm to their seating arrangements. Kagome smiled gratefully but declined his offer.

"You guys can sit down, I'm alright." Hiten and Manten took their seats and watched her. Manten put his arms over his mouth and burped into them. Hiten slapped a hand over his face and tried not to laugh. Koga was even biting back a grin. The sudden belch in a serious situation had them near giggles.

Inuyasha was appalled.

He didn't think it was right for Kagome to be with those guys. It wasn't like he cared about her well-being, but it was just ridiculous. They weren't intelligent. They were stupid wanna-be thugs who laughed when they heard someone burp. Who had they killed? No one. Otherwise they would be in prison. Did they destroy any clans? Take over any kingdoms? Destroy and plunder villages?

No, no, no.

They didn't.

But who did? Who did those things numerous times? Inuyasha glared at Kagome. The day that she acknowledged his amazing evil powers would be a sweet day indeed. It would be the day that he was released from his seal. It would be the day that he would kill her. And he would like it, too. He stared at the back of her head and played pictures in his mind of different ways he wished to destroy her. Somehow, the harder he thought of it, the less pleasing it seemed. The images kept getting replaced with flashes of him falling to the concrete in the pouring rain. Instead of the sound of his claws ripping through her flesh, he kept hearing her yelling his name in that horrified worry.

"You all know what happened yesterday." Kagome said. The three nodded. She sighed and wet her lips. "Well, you're probably wondering what it was about." They nodded again. "You see, there's a guy behind me, only you can't see him." They stared. "He has long white hair, gold eyes, claws...And other in-human stuff." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. They continued to stare. She went on to explain how he came to be with her; how he was released from the book and how only she could control and speak with him.

He bared his fangs at her back. He longed to sink his teeth into her jugular and kill her slowly.  
Being the happy little subject of an, "Oh my gosh, guess what?" Story didn't really please him.

"So that's what you saw yesterday." She said. It was dead silent. Manten looked like he wanted to laugh, but he did a magnificent job of hiding it from the others. Kagome frowned. "Do you need proof?" Manten and Hiten glanced at one another but Koga shook his head once.

"I believe you." He said in an almost dark voice. He was dead serious. His blue eyes were flashing their fascination. Inuyasha knew that Koga found Kagome extremely interesting. Something inside his chest and stomach itched badly. He narrowed his eyes. Koga probably planned to have Kagome use her "demon", him, to his advantage. If that was his plan, Inuyasha wasn't going to let that happen.

He'd kill him first.

But something other than that was bothering him...He didn't know what it was. It was like someone was taking a hot fork and poking it against his brain every time he saw Koga staring at Kagome.

"You believe me?" Kagome said with a happy smile. Koga nodded and flashed a grin. The sound of Kagome's heart fluttering reached Inuyasha's ears and his eyes burned. Hiten and Manten exchanged looks and then burst out laughing. "Good one!" Manten gushed. "Yeah!" Hiten agreed, falling out of his chair from laughter.

Inuyasha smirked. "See what happens when you confide in imbeciles?" He said quietly. Kagome tried to look completely confident, but she was failing fast. Why was it that she was so easily disturbed by two brainless adolecents, but she didn't even give him one single, quiet, terrified gasp? Humans truly were pointless beings. He had told himself that many times. "Let's just go." She muttered. He clenched his teeth but shook off his anger. "What?" He said in a taunting voice. "Why are you so quick to run away?" He asked in a prodding tone. It wasn't fair to him that she would argue with him, but she was running away so easily from them.

She whipped around and brushed past him. His eyes widened. How could she brush past him so carelessly? She had absolutley no fear of him at all. He didn't understand how it was possible. Why was it so hard for him to make her afraid of him? He had tried numerous things. Glares, curses, insults, threats, growls, promises of her imminent downfall...

All had proved useless.

Koga was struggling to get off of his box. He, at least, had somehow believed her. Inuyasha didn't know why, but Koga had reason to believe her. "Stay on your box with your idiotic kin, whelp." He said with an eyebrow raised in arrogance. "You belong with them."

He turned around to follow Kagome to wherever it was she wished to go. That was how it was, he realized. He followed her wherever she went. He couldn't control it or stop it. It just happened against his will. "Hey," Koga was trying to shout. He pushed through Hiten and Manten and trotted after Kagome. Inuyasha faced him in one quick movement. "Stay where you are!" He snapped. Koga, to his surprise, stopped completely. His body was bent over in a defensive way and he was looking through the air in curiosity.

He was afraid.

A slow grin smoothed its way across Inuyasha's face. "Do you feel my hatred?" He wondered alloud. A sharp pain hit his head like someone was tugging his hair harshly. It came again and again and he found himself backing up. His head turned in Kagome's direction. She was walking farther and farther away. He could hear her hateful mutterings faintly. A different pain hit his head so hard like someone had thrown a rock. Suddenly it wasn't the pain he was worrying about. He rushed after her, completely forgetting Koga.

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A soft sigh came from Kagome's parted lips and she stared thoughtfully at the sidewalks.

Just as it had happened many times before, she had been rejected from her peers. She didn't blame them for their reaction. If she were in their place she would have probably done the same thing. She frowned and put a stray locke of hair behind her ear. It didn't hurt that they laughed at her or that Koga had just been saying he believed her to toy with her...It hurt most that she had completely misjudged them. Of course they weren't any good. They were bullies with low IQs. She didn't even remember why she had wanted to be with them in the first place.

She had enough on her plate with Inuyasha there and all of her family troubles and getting expelled from school. She sighed again and shook her head slowly. It was stressful. Far too stressful for any normal 16-year-old girl. "Maybe I wanted friends." She said to herself in a slurred mumble. "Tch, there isn't any such thing as a friend." She said. Her eyes widened a little and she thought of Inuyasha. He had said the same thing to her. "Maybe he was right...No, he wasn't." She shook her head with a grimace at her thoughts. "Come on, I got over this years ago...What the heck is my problem." She rubbed her hand over her face and groaned.

"Ten years from now, I'll be in some kind of psych ward. And will I have friends there?" She raised an eyebrow uncaringly and shrugged. "No, I won't. They don't let psychos have friends, I hear. They get boxed up alone." She slowed her walking for a moment in thought and then picked her pace back up. "That's right..." She said in almost a whisper. "I wouldn't be alone if the curse was still there by then...Then Inuyasha would be..." She raised her head to the clouds for a moment as she walked. "...My friend...?" She tilted her head.

Then she laughed. "He'd laugh so meanly if I told him that..." She said with a shake of her head. "Who?" She heard a rough voice ask. Her head snapped up to the fence beside her. Inuyasha walked along the top of the fence with ease, staring down at her all the while with his arms crossed in the large sleeves of his hoodie. She blinked and slowed her pace a bit. "Oh...No one." She said in an innocent voice. He narrowed his eyes just slightly. "If it was no one, then you were talking to yourself." He said. She smiled embarrassedly and was about to speak. He spoke first. "And you said 'he' which means you called yourself a boy."

Kagome turned her face away and stared at the sidewalk. "Well..." She said slowly. Inuyasha sighed and raised his head. "I feel sorry for you sometimes." He said in a belittling tone. "You're so stupid and insane...A bad combination...You even have yourself confused with being a boy." He glanced down at her. "Hmph, well...I guess that part isn't so unbelievable. Sometimes I question your gender myself." Kagome's jaw dropped at the insult and she gaped at him.

"Who-Who-" She was almost beside herself with shock at his rudeness. "Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" She yelled. He smirked, obviously pleased at annoying her. "Who do I think I am?" He echoed her. "First you confuse your own identity, and then you confuse mine? You poor, pathetic thing..." He frowned at her. Kagome felt the heat sting her face and she curled her hands into fists. She ground her teeth and glared at him. "Well...Well..." His smirk broadened at her struggle. "At least I actually bathe!" She blurted out.

"Hah, that's because I rarely need to. Demons are clean, unlike you filthy humans." Kagome's face fell and she blinked slowly. "Oh..." She said quietly. He seemed surprised at her answer for a moment. Maybe he was surprised that she didn't have a come-back for what he said. "Well at least I know how to do math." She said in a less angry voice. She knew that she was giving up the argument slowly because it wasn't going anywhere and she was far too tired to continue much further.

"What does math have to do with survival skills?" He asked in a snap. Kagome pressed her lips into a line and narrowed an eye. "Now who's the stupid one?" Kagome asked slowly. She heard him seethe in a breathe at her comment. "What would you use math for, anyway? If you need something you take as much from it as you want. And if something is heavy, it's heavy. I never understood why stupid humans use that stone method anyway." He growled. Kagome's eyes widened and she stared at him. "Stone method?" She asked, not hiding her surprise. He gave her a burning stare and looked away. From the look of him, he had completely lost patience in even answering any more of her questions.

"You mean how people in England use stones instead of pounds or kilograms?" She asked. He ignored her. "Woah, you really must have been born a long time ago." She said in quiet fascination. Her mind wandered to years and years and years ago before many of her early relatives had even been born. He had been born before then. At some point he had made it clear that he had control over many places and people. Kagome chewed her lower lip absentmindedly and let her eye follow a fly that zipped around in the air.

Several minutes passed, and Inuyasha grew more and more bored as time went on. Soon there weren't any more fences for Inuyasha to walk across. He was forced to jump down on the concrete next to Kagome. She jumped at his sudden movement. He grinned at her reaction, pleased that he had done something to upset her mental ballance. "Oh," She sighed heavily, placing a hand over her heart. "It's just you..."

Something in Inuyasha's head snapped and his pupils thinned in anger. He was in disbelief. It was just him? Wasn't that enough? To jump in front of someone so suddenly surely meant death. But no..._It was just him_. His fangs gripped his lower lip and his fists vibrated. He stared holes into her head and let his pace fall behind hers. It was all he could do to try and keep his cool. He didn't want to seem affected by what she had said. To show his emotion about that meant instant defeat. He had to think of something to focus his rage on. He had to think of something to do that would make her very upset or hurt.

"Aha," He heard Kagome laugh suddenly. His head snapped up at the sound and tried to see what she was suddenly so happy about. She was smiling broadly and put a hand up to wave. He stared off to where she was looking and saw three girls walking on the opposite side of the road. It was the three girls Kagome had been with at her school. Her so-called _friends_. He didn't remember their names, but then again, he really didn't care. Instead of answering Kagome, the three girls quickened their steps and turned a corner around a house.

He glanced at Kagome and saw her face fall into an emotionless stare. Her eyes were hollow and she let her once waving hand drop to her side. He raised an eyebrow at her quick change in persona. Her jaw tenses as she clenched her teeth in her mouth. "A second time, huh...?" She said in a whisper to herself. Inuyasha's eyes flicked over her back as he thought. She began walking again. He examined the back of her head and picked at one of his claws. The thoughts in his head were strange and he didn't want to think them any longer. He decided to be cruel instead and said, "Told you that there was no such thing as a friend." She didn't answer for a few seconds. The straight silence after he spoke was unnerving to him. Usually she would instantly get mad over something like that.

"I know." She said softly. He felt his mouth open slightly at her reply. He closed it quickly. "But I think..." Her voice was quiet. He felt his ears grow tense to listen. "...Maybe...In the world...There are good people, and bad people...and..." There was a crack in her voice and she cleared her throat. His heart was suddenly pounding and he felt like he wasn't supposed to hear what she was saying. "There are good people, too." His eyes narrowed. She continued. "And even though the friends I've had haven't been that good," She swallowed and put her hands in the pockets of her skirt. "There's at least one person out in the world somewhere...who was meant to be my friend." She said softly. His eyes widened a little and he stared off at the houses that lined the street. He had to look anywhere but at her.

Saying something so stupid and sappy had thrown him off ballance. Some people weren't meant to have good relationships with people, and others were meant to. That was it. He didn't understand how she could say something so strange. Her range of thought was beyond him. How could she be so understanding of people? He had broken himself away from attachment long ago. Saying something like "there's at least one person" had opened a locked door in his head. It had made him think, "maybe there is just one single person." It had made him think, "what if that person was Kagome." His head pounded and he began working hard to shut the door in his mind that had opened just a crack.

"One time when I was little," She started. Inuyasha bit his tongue on the inside of his mouth. He didn't want her to speak anymore. He wanted to concentrate on going back to the same, normal train of thought. "Me and my best friend were playing in the park not to far from here. I used to pour my grape juice on the sand and make things out of it. One day, I made an outline of a little turtle," He could hear the smile in her voice. "And a big kid I hadn't seen there before came up to me and my friend and said, 'Wow, you make things out of the sand? You babies!'" Inuyasha smirked. That had been what he was thinking almost exactly. "So then my friend said, 'I don't make things out of the sand! It's only her! I don't even know her!'"

Inuyasha curled his lip to show a fang at the thought. If someone had been so careless as to deny his leadership over them, they would have been killed by him personally. But that didn't sound like Kagome. Maybe she had cried. He listened.

"So then I stood up all hurt and everything," Inuyasha smirked. He knew that she had been upset over it. "And I grabbed a hand full of sand and threw it at her face." Inuyasha's mouth opened and he raised an eyebrow. "It went in her eyes and everything." She laughed.

No, it was impossible. He was hearing things. She was laughing at someone's pain? "She starting screaming _so_ loud. I got real mad and told her to shut up. And then my mom came and I got in _bad _trouble." She shook her head with a grin on her face. "Keh, you..." He stopped speaking and realized that it had become strange for him to talk. He blinked and tried to push the odd feeling away.

He glared at Kagome as she smiled and walked on the concrete. She seemed happy. But how could she possibly be happy with what was happening in her life? Was she stronger than he thought she was? Maybe all humans weren't stupid weaklings after all. Inuyasha felt his head sway at the impossible thought that had just passed through his head. His fists clenched and he stared at Kagome's back in complete disbelief at what she had done to his brain to make him think so strangely. All humans weren't the same? That couldn't have been true. Yet he had thought that for a split second.

"Oh," She stopped walking and turned her head to look at him with a playful grin. "Did you like the ice cream yesterday?" She asked. He blinked and pressed his fingers against the black sleeve that went past his knuckles. Suddenly it didn't seem so bad to tell her honestly if he did or didn't. Maybe it was becoming tiresome to torment her and fiddle with her annoyance boundries. "It was too sweet." He lied. Kagome pouted her lip with a narrowed eye. "Too sweet, eh? Never heard someone say that before." She shrugged and turned back around. Realizing that he had gotten back to annoying her, he began to think of more to add to the ice cream lie. "I usually put blood on everything I eat," He said with a dark smirk. Of course, that was also a lie. "_Human_ blood." He added.

To his stunned horror, she turned around with a grin. "Ha-ha, very funny." He felt his eyebrows raise at her reply. "Funny?" He echoed quietly. Her grin lessened and she put a loose hand in her pocket. "I thought you were this scary demon guy who almost ruled the world with all this experience and stuff. But you can't even tell a good lie."

Inuyasha felt himself get sucked into a mental category-five tornado.

"You're insane!" He found himself shouting. "I'm the best liar in the world, curse you!" He bared his fangs menacingly and his eyes flashed their murderous intent. She simply rolled her eyes and said, "You know, that's not really a good reputation to be fighting for." Inuyasha's mouth moved without words as he searched for something to say. "Weh...Well who cares!" He snapped. He tried desperately to hide his embarrassment at stuttering. "Ooh, clever. 'Who cares'." She said sarcastically through a smile. His pupils thinned and he completely lost his ready-to-kill posture. She had beaten him.

Again.

"Ahh, I just remembered what I wanted to ask you last night." She said. Inuyasha glared at the concrete with a bratty frown and tuned her voice out of his head. She wasn't worth listening to anyways. After a few moments he became proud of his ability to drown sounds out, because he couldn't hear her voice at all. He looked up with a smirk at Kagome. She was standing perfectly still. Her head was bowed slightly and she was breathing deeply through her nose. He narrowed his eyes in curiosity and walked closer to her. He came around slowly to her front and bent his head down to look at her face.

Her eyes were confused and wavering and her face was dotted with sweat. She shook her head a little and her lips moved to form a word that didn't come out. Inuyasha looked closer at her face and wondererd what was wrong with her. He didn't care, of course. Suddenly her grey eyes darted up to stare into his golden ones. She gasped and moved backwards. He jumped back and threw his fists up in defense. A very embarrassing move, he came to realize, as it meant he thought she could physically hurt him. "Oh," She heaved and put a hand to her forehead. "Sorry..." She murmured. He blinked and lowered his hands. "Keh..." He narrowed an eye and examined her.

She smiled as she stared at the concrete and rubbed her forehead. She let out a breath and said, "I'm just...Uhh..." She shook her head and slapped her cheek. "Feelin' a little weird is all..." He glared at her response and scoffed. "Pathetic human." Right after he spoke, Kagome's head swayed and she dropped almost gracefully to her knees. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he took a step away from her.

The sounds of her deep, rasping breathes itched in his ears. Something was very wrong. Was she poisoned...?

"Hey," He walked up to her. "Hey!" He said louder. She looked up at him, her eyes strange. "I'm not feeling too good." She said quietly as if it were some shocking revealation. "So?" Inuyasha answered her with a cocky expression. She blinked at him. "I don't think...I can get up." She said in a stunned voice. Inuyasha swallowed harshly and took a step backwards. "Heh," His eyes flickered over her. "You gonna die?" He swallowed again and clenched his fists. "Don't say things like that!" She snapped. "I'm sick. I can tell I have a fever." She mumbled to herself in anger. It was as if she were scolding herself.

"Well, so what?" He said scornfully. "Suck it up and walk." Kagome relaxed further into a sitting position on the sidewalk in response to him. "I'm too sick." She said. Her breath came out in puffs. He could see the red discoloration of her face. She was obviously ill.

"Humans are so weak!" He said, his head pounding. He had never seen her so weak before. Surely it was time to strike. Of course. She was so vulnerable. The wheels in his head began their devious turning as he thought up a plan for her demise. Kagome sighed loudly. "I really can't move." She said. "I'm too tired." She shook her head and stared up at him. The wheels in Inuyasha's head stopped. Something about her expression...It wasn't right. He blinked slowly and raised his chin. She was thinking of something...

"Carry me home." She said through a sigh and closed her eyes. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he felt his legs move on their own. He tried with every fiber of his being to stop them. Desperately he tried to stop them. He prayed to God to stop them. But still they moved.

His body bent over and he picked her up. One arm went to support her back, and the other went under the backs of her knees. He swallowed and tried to hide his face from her with his hair. His legs moved on their own again as he walked in the direction of her house. "No, no, don't just walk on the road. Run across rooftops or something!" She whined sleepily. Inuyasha's head clicked at the command and he jumped onto the nearest building's roof. "This is disgusting." He growled to himself. His head pulsed and his face was probably red. He had never picked up a girl before. He had never even thought of picking up a girl before, much less Kagome.

He felt Kagome's head drop to his chest in her weak state. His heart jolted and he raced onto another roof. The only thing he wanted to do more than anything else was get back to her house so he could throw her on the ground and leave her there for dead.

"You're hot..." Kagome mumbled. Inuyasha's face turned a deep shade of red and he raised an eyebrow. He swallowed and tried to remain indifferent. "No, really." Kagome persisted. She pressed a hand to his cheek. Inuyasha's mouth opened and he swallowed back a gasp. "Get off me!" He hissed. She lowered her hand. "Do you have a fever, too?" She asked.

'_Wait, she meant...Literally...?_' He thought to himself. He clamped his teeth together and glared at the the next roof he was to jump onto. He felt completely ridiculous. How could he think she meant _that_? Slowly, he was turning into a fool. It made him despise himself more and more. His stomach churned sickeningly and he bit back a growl.

Just one quick minute later, they arrived at the front door of Kagome's house. Inuyasha let her down, finally relaxed. He felt that he could breathe again once she was away from him. Kagome moved slowly to the front door and opened it. She sniffed up snot deeply and closed the door once Inuyasha was inside. "I thought that I was just tired 'cause of the few hours of sleep I got." She mumbled. She almost fell over walking to her room. Inuyasha had to rush forward to help her back on her feet. Once she was up, Inuyasha moved his hands away as if he had touched something burning hot.

"Thanks," She said tiredly. She turned the doorknob to her room and walked in. "I guess they went out." She said. "I'll wash your shirt now, nnkay?" She bent down slowly to pick up his blood-red shirt. It used to be white, he realized. He had bled that much...?

She grunted as she stood back up. She walked past him slowly and walked to the laundry room. "I should wash all those sheets too...And my clothes." She was completely out of it. She turned on the washer and tossed Inuyasha's shirt in. Water flowed into the machine and began to fill it up. Inuyasha stepped closer in interest and stared into it. Kagome brushed past him sluggishly and went back into her room. She returned a moment later with her arms full of bloodied sheets and clothes. She shoved them down into the washer.

"There," She smiled, dark circles visible under her eyes. She poured a strong-smelling powder into the machine and closed the lid. "Now we wait a bit and then I stick them in the dryer." She grinned at him and walked out of the laundry room. Inuyasha waited there, staring into the strange machine. He waited a long time, just staring and thinking. When the machine stoppped, his mind cleared as though his thinking had been on the same cycle as the washing. He turned his head to the doorway, expecting Kagome to be there any moment. Surely she had heard the silence of the machine and the loud beeping signaling its completion.

"Hey," He shouted finally into the silence. He wanted his shirt back and it wasn't getting any dryer by just sitting in the machine. He narrowed his eyes in impatience and shouted again, "Hey!" Still there was no reply. Something in his head pulsed its concern and he pushed it away. He walked out of the laundry room and turned into her room. He staggered backward a few steps in surprise.

Kagome was kneeling in front of her bathroom door with one hand against her neck, and the other clutching her stomach. She seemed to be having some kind of tremor attacks. There was vomit on her chin and sweat shined from her almost white skin.

Inuyasha's mouth was open as he stared. "Wha..." He stepped closer and tried to get a grip on the situation. "What's wrong with you?" He managed to say, though it hadn't sounded as rude as he wanted it to. She was deaf to him, he realized. Something was wrong. So wrong. He had never been ill before, let alone see anyone who was ill. The worst he had seen was an old lady who would have short coughing fits.

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was afraid to approach her. He didn't know what her illness was or what it would do to him. It was like seeing a strange animal for the first time. Slowly, he moved towards her. Careful, hessitant steps. He let his knees buckle and he knelt beside her at a daring closeness. "Hey, you." He called her in a rough voice. She turned her head to him, her grey eyes dark and clouded. She took a deep, rattling breath. His insides froze up at the sound. Maybe she would die...?

"Inuyasha..." She murmured in a sick shudder. She moved a hand up over her mouth and gagged. She struggled to rush herself up to her feet and staggered quickly into the bathroom. She dropped herself in front of the toilet and threw up. Inuyasha turned his head away, his eyes wide. Seeing that almost felt wrong. Like he wasn't supposed to see.

When the sounds of her sick ended, he turned his head back to her. She had her back against the wall and she clutched a towel to her mouth with shaking arms. She groaned quietly and closed her eyes tightly.

"Hey you stupid human," He tried to shout. His throat was tight and sick af the smell of her vomit. "How did you get sick?" Only after he asked did he realize how stupid a question it really was. He lowered his eyes to his hands and hoped she didn't hear it. His ears moved to the sound of her rising to her feet. She flushed the toilet and washed her face in the sink. She dried her face in the towel she held on to so desperately and she walked out of the bathroom. She climbed onto her bed and pulled the covers up around her.

"Hey wait, what...You're going to _sleep_?" He asked, insulted. "You can't!" He shouted, getting up to his feet. He went to her bedside and shook her shoulder. "It smells in here and my shirt needs to dry!" He shook her harder, his eyes widening in a kind of fear. Somehow, her sleeping was bad. She was very ill. He wanted her to be awake so that he could watch her. What if she fell asleep, and she didn't wake up...?

"Kagome!" He shouted angrily and shook her again. Cold fingertips touched his hand and moved themselves to grip his hand. His heart leapt to his throat at the eery feeling. The tremors she went through transferred into his hand. The color was draining from his face. He didn't like it. It was sick. Her sickness wasn't right. He didn't want to feel how ill she was. He wanted no part of her.

"Get off of me." He choked. He couldn't bring himself to rip his hand away. Suddenly his ears shot forward. She had said something very quietly. He moved closer to her to hear. "Cabinet...Above the fridge." She whispered. She loosened her grip on his hand and he slid away from her. He backed up and grabbed his hand and moved his sleeve against it as if to wipe something off.

He turned away from her bed and went to the kitchen. He opened the cabinet above the fridge and looked inside. There were different kinds of salts and a black box that said in red letters, _AID_. He pulled it out and stared at it. He realized with a twisted sway of his head that she hadn't even commanded him to bring it to her. His claws dug into the metallic box and chipped the black paint. His mind raced.

He wanted her to die. Of course he did. Wasn't that his whole objective? If she died, he would be free to wreak havoc among whatever he pleased without any penalty. If she died, he'd be happy. And wasn't it also his objective to make her life harder until she died or the curse upon him was removed? So if she didn't command something, why listen? And if it benifitted her in some way, that was even more reason not to listen.

A little itching voice in his head pushed away all of those thoughts and told him, '_Yes, it's true...But of course, I'm the one that wanted to kill her...Wait until the curse is broken, and then take her life. It would be more gratifying than watching her die of some trivial illness..._'

He blinked down at the box with a blank face.

A moment later, he found himself back in her room. He stood at the side of her bed and opened the box. He didn't understand anything about what kind of medicines did what, nor did he know anything about using them. "I have the box." He said loudly. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at the box he had in his arms. She glanced up at his face with an unexpected look of gratitude in her eyes.

Inuyasha grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "Just take the stupid box!" He shouted in frustration. A smile moved onto her face and she reached a hand out from under her covers and took the box. He was more than glad to be rid of it.

"Thank you." She said quietly. His eyes widened and he snapped his head away from her. "Whatever." He said in a low voice.

Her hands moved slowly around the contents of the box. He watched her take two bottles and a small box out. She looked up at him with her dark, clouded eyes and managed to whisper, "Glass of water, please?" He clenched his teeth and went back to the kitchen. He grabbed a clean glass off the counter and filled it with water from her sink. He went back to her room, mumbling curses. He handed her the glass lazily and glanced away in a careless manner. "Thank you." She mumbled once more as she took the glass. He crossed his arms and glared at her window.

"Inuyasha," She called quietly. He glanced over his shoulder at her. There was a look of pathetic apology on her face as if she really understood her own weakness and was sorry for it. "I can't..." Her eyes narrowed as she struggled to keep tears back. She sniffed and cleared her throat. "When I try to sit up, I feel sick." She said in a quiet, choked voice.

The breath left Inuyasha's lungs and he stared at her sad face. His mind raged with a mental battle as he decided what to do. He wondered how hard it had been for her to really swallow her pride and tell him that. Or maybe it was easy for her to say it. Whatever the case, he knew that she was asking for his help. He remembered the mental conversation he had with himself in the kitchen and walked close to the side of her bed. His eyes flickered down at her and he wondered how to proceed.

Kagome reached a hand up and he grabbed it. He put his other hand under her back and pulled her up slowly to a sitting position. She sighed in relief and leaned against her headboard. Inuyasha let go of her hand and ripped his arm away from her back. He tensed his arms at his sides and tried to occupy his eyes with something. Kagome opened the two bottles and took out two pills from each. She put them in her mouth and swallowed them with the water he got for her. Then she opened the little box and took a pink tablet from it. She put it in her glass of water and let it disolve. Then she drank the rest of the water.

It seemed a harsh struggled for her to get the water down, but in the end she managed. She put the glass carefully on her night table and then lowered herself back onto her pillow. She sighed and pulled her covers up to her chin. Inuyasha tried to sneer at her but failed. He glared at her book shelf instead. Being in her room was suffocating. Not only from the fading smell of her vomit, but from the way he was thinking as he stood next to her bed. He curled his clawed fingers into fists and walked away from her bed. When he got near her door, Kagome gasped, "Inuyasha," He turned around to look at her. His eyes moved over her face in curiosity. The voice she called him in was desperate. "What do you want?" He asked impatiently.

There was silence after he spoke. She seemed very reluctant to speak. A vein bulged on his temple and he raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "What is it?" He asked harshly. Her face twisted in a kind of fear at his tone of voice. She tried to force out the words as quickly as she could. "W...Will you...Stay with me 'till I...Fall asleep?" She sputtered.

Inuyasha's ears turned to the sides and he stared. An odd melting went through him and he stared hard at her. She looked at him expectantly, but she moved the covers slowly further up her face as if to hide. "Stay with you?" He asked. She nodded. The wheels in his head turned slowly in their confusion. Had she really asked that question? It couldn't have been a real question. There was no way she could see him as a comfort to her...Someone to think about happily as she slept.

"I'll stay." He said monotonously. Her eyes lit up with a smile and she closed her eyes happily to sleep. He walked to the foot of her bed and sat down in a sloppy position. He tilted his head to his shoulder and blinked in confusion at her carpet. Maybe the seal between them was strong enough to transfer her illness to him. He was feeling sick. His head was clouded in confused thoughts and he felt altogether ill.

He leaned his head against the bottom of her bed and listened to the sounds of her breathing. Something was wrong with him. He realized it when he had woken up that morning. He had gone far too long without causing someone to scream in the horror of his existence. He had gone far too long without the exciting rush of being chased by imperial guards, only to turn around after he was bored and kill them.

He had been too long with the strange human girl who called herself Kagome.

Her breathing evened out as she slept. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She slept peacfully. At least in sleep she didn't have sick tremors or gags. His ears perked up and he heard voices outside of the house. As they got closer to the front door, he matched them up to Kagome's mother and aunt. His lip curled in distaste at the memory of the two human women. He decided that he really disliked them both.

The front door opened noisely and he winced. They walked in, chattering loudly. "Ah, she's home." Yura said, breaking away from their conversation abruptly. Inuyasha stared at Yura's smiling face in dislike. She walked to Kagome's room and smiled at her sleeping form. A surge of protectivness coursed through Inuyasha and he stood. "She's sleeping." Yura whispered. "Oh, is she?" Her mother answered from the kitchen. "Do you think you could wake her gently and ask her if she wants to eat some of my leftover pasta? It's her favorite kind." Yura smiled at Mrs. Higurashi's idea. She stared a moment longer at Kagome and then looked over her shoulder.

"That's a good idea since she hasn't eaten." She called quietly. Inuyasha moved forward and closed the door harshly. He flicked the lock sideways and stepped back with a grin at his handy work. Now she couldn't get in. He chuckled darkly at the confused, shocked sounds the foolish woman was making. It must have been strange to see Kagome sleeping peacfully in her bed one second, and then having the door shut and locked in her face the next.

Inuyasha turned away from the door with an evil smirk and went back to sitting at the foot of Kagome's bed.

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_**Insane-san says: **Well there we go. The next chapter should be fun. And the one after that will be even better. Sometimes when I think of this fanfiction, I think of an orange. Technically you can eat the peel, but when you work your way further in, it just gets juicier and juicier...Oh dangit, now I've gone and made myself hungry for oranges. x.x_

_I'll see you little readers later. A review would be nice. Maybe it would take my mind off of oranges. :'D_

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	8. Page Eight

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_**Insane-san says:** It looks like we're here again, my little dearies... Yet another chapter arises from the depths of my twisted mind. Hopefully you'll like it. Kagome's illness is not long-term. It's not some evil past thing like people wondered...She carried Inuyasha all the way to her house in the cold, pouring rain. It's that with a mix of all the stress in her life. People just get sick, man...I've been there. Getting sick from stress isn't fun. It's one of the worst sicknesses ever. -blank stare-_

_I wrote this chapter quickly at first, but once I got to 4,000 words I kept typing a little at a time...little at a time...little at a time...You get the picture. Somehow, I finished it. I jumped a huge hurdle in this chapter...When you're jumping it, be careful not to like, slam into it and blow your brains out, get a nosebleed, etc. Oh, and watch out when you get to the other side. Don't want you falling over or anything... o.o_

_I found out today that "boredly" isn't a word in the English dictionary. Well, fancy that...OH WELL. Maybe I made it up? No, I'm sure I've heard/read _

_Anyways, -grin- Thanks for your reviews. I'M **UNAMBIGUOUSLY** PLEASED. Please give me some more for this chapterrrr. _

_See you guys next time. n.n_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page eight._

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Yura scratched the back of her neck, the slimy feeling of nervousness flooding through her.

She had been watching Kagome sleep. She was all curled up with her blankets tight around her, obviously not going anywhere fast. Just for a moment, Yura turned to answer her sister-in-law. Right as she was turning her head back to Kagome's room, the door shut. As she was turning her head, she got a quick glimpse of the foot of Kagome's bed that clearly had bulge in it from Kagome sleeping there. But the door was shut, which meant that she must have gotten up.  
Normally a strange occurrence like that would have been blamed on a strong rush from the air conditioner.

But could the air conditioner lock doors?

Yura took a few even breaths to get her head together and think of what to do next. Alerting Kagome's mother wouldn't do any good for her rattled nerves. It would only make things worse, she reasoned. So she stood in front of Kagome's door at a complete loss of how to proceed. She shifted her weight from one foot the other and tried to sort out reasons for the occurrence.

She couldn't find a sane one.

"Kagome," Yura called softly. "Sweety, are you there?" There was no reply. Yura reached her hand down around the door knob and twisted it. It was definitely locked. Another thing, Yura realized, was that she didn't hear footsteps back to Kagome's bed, nor did she hear the usual spring-squeak of Kagome's mattress when weight was pushed against it.

Suddenly it was getting harder for Yura to breathe. The only two vaguely solid reasons she could think of were the air conditioning, or Kagome really had gotten up. But if she did, how could she have been in bed at the same time as she locked the door?

Yura's head spun and swayed and she felt the need to sit down. She knelt in front of Kagome's door and pressed the back of her cold hand to her hot forehead. She licked her lips and gazed at the bottom of Kagome's door. She leaned her ear against the wood and listened for sounds.

There were none.

Yura whispered words of calm reassurance to herself. There _was_ an explanation. A clear, reasonable explanation.

She just had to think of it...

"Yura, did she want any?" Her sister-in-law asked. Yura's eyes wavered over the tile in front of Kagome's door. "No," She answered after a while. "I guess she didn't." She said more quietly. "Oh, alright then..." Came the absentminded reply. Yura frowned and stood up. She tried opening the door again. Then a spark lit inside of her quick-moving head. "Wasn't there a rule that Kagome wasn't allowed to lock doors?" She shouted softly, her eyes serious and calculating.

"Oh...that was only back _then_." Mrs. Higurashi answered from the kitchen. Yura creased her eyebrows and stared sharply at the door. Well, forcing her to get up and unlock the door was ruled out. She quickly thought of something else. Perhaps she could just knock for a long time and have Kagome get up and open the door?

Somehow, the idea didn't settle well. "Why did it close?" She mumbled. Then a strange, flashing of an image came into her head of a villainous-looking Kagome with a tall, grinning shadow-figure clutching her shoulders from behind her.

Yura gasped quietly and backed away from the door like it reeked of a hellish odor.

Her hands moved up to cover her now trembling red lips. "Silly thinking...Stupid, silly thinking..." She muttered to herself from behind her hand. She stepped closer towards the door. After that image had played in her mind, she quickly tried to be rid of it. It was a horrible thought. She hated it being in her mind. Just like she taught in her therapy, she focused all of her concentration on looking at Kagome's door knob. Examining the shape, color, feel...Anything to get her mind away from the thought.

After it was more or less cleared from her mind, she pulled her black trench coat tightly around herself and went into the small reading room that Kagome liked to be in. She sat in the big chair and snuggled her back into it. She sighed with a troubled look and closed her eyes in thought. It wasn't easy to talk to Kagome. She was getting harder and harder to pry open. Soon, she would be completely sealed up and no one would be able to get inside her thoughts. Yura realized that she didn't even know much about Kagome's favorite things anymore.

Did she still love books? Was her favorite kind of pasta still Alfredo? Was her favorite color still pink, or did she hate it?

A soft sigh left Yura's lips and she glanced at her red manicured nails. It used to be easy to figure out how to cheer Kagome up. When Kagome was little and cried, Yura would say, "Let's go to the playground!" It always worked. But of course, Kagome had grown out of the playground days. Then, after everything that happened with her parents, there was no connecting with her at all _period_. Then, once that stage passed, she never really got to know Kagome again. She knew she had matured a great deal, but she didn't know how much.

Minutes passed and still Yura didn't know what to do. She frowned deeply and rolled sideways in the chair. She poked at the fat arm rest and picked at some of the fuzz. She pinched a piece of fuzz and pulled it up. She narrowed an eye. It wasn't coming up smoothly. It was like it was attached to something. She pulled it higher and higher untill she had to stand to continue pulling it up. She pulled it up far above her head. Finally it came free.

But something came with it. It shined in the light. Yura opened her mouth and brought it closer to the glow of the lamp, careful not to loose it. She came to realize that it was an incredibly long hair. She blinked in fascination and stretched it to its full length. She pressed it onto the black lamp table to get a look at its color.

It was white.

* * *

"Kagome," He heard. "Sweety, are you there?"

Inuyasha flashed a grin and snickered darkly. Of course she was there, the fool. It filled him with great bubbles of amusement to think of how panicked that stupid woman was, and how panicked she was going to become. That dumb woman would become hysteric. A smirk of contentment shone on Inuyasha's face and he narrowed his eyes at the thought of Kagome's family leaving her alone. Something about the thought was just so pleasing.

The sound of Yura gasping touched his ears and he grinned. What could she be thinking? Before, she had even jiggled the door knob to see if it had somehow "magically" unlocked itself. It was all just _too_ much. He had thought Yura was annoying before, but now he thought her to be extremely entertaining. From what he saw of her the first time, he thought her mind would be irritating to break into.

But he had already done it.

"Poor, _stupid_ Kagome...Being stuck with these fools." He shook his head with a grin and tapped his claws against his crossed arm.

* * *

"Yura, could you help me load the dishwasher, please?"

Yura pressed her sweaty hands against the side of a bookshelf and clenched her teeth. Her mind was reeling and she couldn't even hear her sister-in-law well. She chewed her lower lip harshly and shook her head. It couldn't have been true. The things Kagome said before...

_Inuyasha_ was _real_?

"No, stop..." She hissed to herself. She wiped sweat from her face and backed away from the shelf. She went to the black table and picked up the long, white hair. Her fingers trembled and the white hair fluttered in response. "This hair is impossible to match up with anyone in this family...No one has hairs this long, and no one has white hair!" She said in a quiet whine.

She slammed the hair against the table and glared at it. The memory of Kagome's voice echoed sickly in her head. "_...Some kind of ancient...Demon boy._" Yura lowered her head and tightened her fingers around her trench coat. Then she raised her head. She remembered another thing Kagome had said. "_I think he's in some books._" She had said. Yura's mouth opened and she quickly left the reading room.

She slipped her red high-heels on and wrapped her thin scarf around her neck. She tied her trench coat around herself tightly and opened the front door. "I'm going to the library." She shouted. "Alright, Yura." Came the reply of her sister-in-law. Yura stepped out the door and closed it behind her. She fiddled in her purse for her rented car keys. When she couldn't feel them, she looked down at her purse. Her eyes caught something other than her purse, however. She raised one of her sleek eyebrows and blinked at the driveway.

There appeared to be a trail of red splotchy stains. Thinner than paint, that was easy to see. It was almost like it was...

"Blood?" Yura tilted her head childishly and squatted down. She traced a finger along one of the drippy-looking stains. It was perfectly dried into the concrete. It had to have been recent because it had rained the night before, she reasoned. Unless it wasn't washed away? But that couldn't have been possible. It was true that when she pulled up into the driveway, she didn't see the stains because everything was wet from rain and it was dark from the early morninig. But now that it was dry, she could clearly see them. "How odd..." She mumbled. Her eyes wandered farther.

There were more blood stains. "A trail?" She stood and began to follow it.

* * *

Fists slammed powerfully against Kagome's door numerous times. The knocking wouldn't stop.

The shining gold of Inuyasha's eyes flicked towards the door in the darkness. His eyes narrowed to slits. He had been sleeping. He quickly remembered that Kagome was ill and asleep. He jumped to his feet and swung the door open. Yura stood before him, face flushed pink. Her eyes widened and she moved her head around very slowly to look for the person who opened the door.

"It's _you_." Inuyasha said meanly. Yura's lips trembled just slightly. She sniffed loudly. It must have been cold out, Inuyasha thought. He narrowed an eye and waited for Yura to say something. She seemed at a loss for words. She was scared and stunned into speechlessness. Inuyasha backed up and closed the door.

"Dumb fool," He muttered a stream of curses at Yura. He picked at his claws and glanced boredly around Kagome's room. What did she do in her spare time? There was nothing interesting to mess with. Didn't she get tired of being in-doors all the time? She was a strange human. Other humans were outside working or playing with their happy little friends. Well, she had gone out a few times...The ice cream and meeting up with the boys from school. But if you took him out of the picture, she was alone.

"If you have people who call themselves your _friend_, you should at least _use_ them..." He said to her sleeping form. "Humans are social, aren't they?" He asked her, stepping towards her bed. "But you just do things on your own..." He raised an eyebrow. Her face was tense and her eyes moved under her eyelids quickly. The knocking at the door started up again.

Inuyasha spun around on his heels and made his way to the door. He gripped his claws into the wood and scratched them down slowly. The knocking ceased. Inuyasha stopped his claws halfway down the door and waited. "It isn't...It isn't...It isn't..." Yura repeated over, and over, and over, and over. Inuyasha pressed his hand to his mouth to hide his grin. His eyes showed his laughter.

A light knock started up and Inuyasha opened the door. Yura was trembling all over, gaping. She drew in a long, deep breath. Inuyasha blinked down at her. He looked around behind her and sniffed the air. The _other woman_ was cooking something. It smelled like soup. A scowl crept over Inuyasha's features. He knew soup to be the common food given to people who were ill. His mother was often ill and his nursemaid would make her soup all the time. Inuyasha snorted the scent out of his nose to cleanse the memory from his head.

"Yura, is she awake yet? The soup's ready." Kagome's mother asked. Yura, of course, was beside herself and all too scared to even speak. While Inuyasha enjoyed it, it was getting boring. He would have killed her by then if the seal hadn't prevented him from attacking on his own without Kagome's say. "Yura," She called again. "Are you there?" The woman's padded slippers slapped the tile floor as she walked through the kitchen to Yura.

"Yura..." She breathed. Inuyasha didn't need to look at Yura anymore to know her expression. It was the same as it had been before. He was bored with her. He focused on Kagome's mother. She was shorter than Kagome by about an inch. Her hair was dark brown and short. It was very wavy. The white apron she wore over her yellow dress was spotted with food and her slippers had holes in them. A foggy gold ring adorned one of her fingers. Inuyasha eyed it with interest. Could it be a wedding ring from her husband?

No, it couldn't have been. From what he had figured in his head, Kagome's mother wasn't on good terms with her husband. Or Kagome, for that matter. Then again, it wasn't like Kagome's background story interested him or anything. "Yura," She called again for what seemed like the hundredth time. Finally, Yura responded. She promptly whipped around, her trench coat flapping around her. "Oh...Oh..." Yura gazed almost emotionlessly.

"Yura, what's wrong?" Kagome's mother held the same serious, confident expression and tone of voice that Kagome had on the night they saw the man in the white mask. Though her mother's face was kinder and more care-free, Inuyasha instantly saw their resemblance. "It...It's nothing." Yura muttered, embarrassed suddenly at her own reactions. She hurried away from Kagome's room and was out of sight. Kagome's mother stayed, however. Her eyes were lit with a cautious curiosity as she stepped through the doorway. Inuyasha, to his own surprise, moved away so that she could pass.

She bent over Kagome and smoothed a hand over her forehead. Her eyebrows creased with a frown and she sighed with compassion for her daughter. She wiped her hands on her apron and stretched her back. She did a double-take on something and bent over to retrieve whatever it was. When she stood back up, Inuyasha saw her holding the AID box. Her eyes widened a little at the marks of scratched paint from his own claws. She matched her fingers up to the marks and traced her fingers down the lines of silver.

After a moment, she walked out of Kagome's room. Inuyasha followed her, deciding he had nothing better to do but sit at the foot of Kagome's bed. Kagome's mother went to the fridge and put the box back in its rightful cabinet. She slapped dust off her hands and went to the stove. Inuyasha jumped onto the counter next to the stove and stared into the pot of boiling soup. It was thick and loaded with carrots and meat. Inuyasha eyed the woman and wondered for a split second what to call her. Calling her by her real name would be too casual.

He raised his eyes to stare at her face. "_Her Mother_." He mumbled.

He glared into the pot at the fitting name. Her Mother stirred the soup with a wooden spoon. "Making soup is useless," Inuyasha said despite the fact that she couldn't hear him. "It looks just like her vomit." He crinkled his nose. She sighed and wiped sweat from her face with a towel. "This house is crazy." She said quietly to herself. Inuyasha sat back on his haunches and rolled his eyes. "People having mental breakdowns left and right..." She sighed again and turned the stove off. She took off her apron and went to the laundry room. Inuyasha hopped off the counter and followed her.

Her Mother opened the washing machine and put the apron out in front of her to drop it in. Her eyes widened and she let out a noise of surprise at the full washer. She lowered the apron to the floor and opened the dryer. She pulled out all of Kagome's big blankets and sheets and transferred them into the dryer. "Oh, my..." She said quietly. She pulled out Inuyasha's shirt slowly and stared at it. She stretched it out and rubbed her fingers over the wet fabric.

"Who's...?" She raised an eyebrow and stared hard at it. Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently and waited for her to put it into the dryer. To his annoyance, she stepped away from the two machines and seemed to be putting a puzzle together in her head. "The washer is loaded without my knowing...It isn't a sin for Kagome to load the washer by herself...But normally she tells me to," She shifted weight to her other foot. Inuyasha narrowed an eye. Kagome told her mother to wash her things? Either Her Mother didn't have much of a parental backbone, or Kagome was scary with her parents...

"The washer is filled with all of Kagome's sheets...And...The under-shirt of a male yukata...?" She traced her fingers over the clean white fabric. Her Mother gazed at the ceiling with a spaced-out look. Her face seemed to cringe, but it faded. She shook her head harshly and put Inuyasha's clothing into the dryer along with the sheets. She closed the door, turned some things, and the dryer started. Then she began to load dirty clothes into the washer.

Inuyasha found himself yawning as minutes passed. He grew to realize how annoying it was that people couldn't see him. If Her Mother could see him, then she would scream instead of being so much of a cloud-dancer. It would have been fun to mess with her head, too.

Her Mother started the washer and then went out of the room with an empty basket, mumbling about how the clothes never ended. Inuyasha jumped on top of the washer and read what the buttons did. It was annoying how many there were. It should have just been _start wash_ and _end wash_. He didn't understand why humans in that time had to be so confusing.

A dark grin found its way onto Inuyasha's face and he thought of an evil plan. His claws traced the buttons of the washing machine untill they found _end cycle_. His eyes narrowed deviously and he pressed the button. The washer shut off and the house was silent once again.

Like a machine, Her Mother was in the room again, checking the washer. Inuyasha held back laughter. She frowned in confusion and turned the washer back on. As she was just leaving, Inuyasha pushed the button again. Her Mother spun around, mouth agape. "What on earth is going on?" She said quietly to herself. She turned the washer back on. She stood in front of it for a few minutes to catch it in the act. Inuyasha pressed the button as she was looking. Her Mother raised an eyebrow and pushed the button again. Inuyasha pushed it, Her Mother pushed it, and they continued the battle of the button.

Then a loud, crackling fit of coughing swept through the walls and landed in Inuyasha's ears. His eyes widened a little and he left the laundry room. Obviously Her Mother hadn't heard it over the washer. When he had his hand on the doorknob of Kagome's room, he stopped to think. He reasoned that he wasn't going to check on her because of her unending coughing, he was just going into her room out of boredom...He got tired of playing that _stupid_ game with Her Mother. His hand turned the knob and he pushed her door open.

Kagome was sitting up in bed with a shaky fist over her mouth, coughing. Tears spilled from her closed eyes at the intensity of it. Her body shook with each loud cough. She gasped for a moment to catch her breath only to continue coughing. Inuyasha closed her door and walked in. He was at a loss of what to do. How did you stop someone from coughing? Maybe if he grabbed her neck and squeezed it _really_ hard...

"Water," She gasped out through a cough. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open when he saw that she was looking straight at him. He shot his head left and right as if he were looking for a glass of water, or to make sure she was really speaking to him. Then he went into her bathroom and got the glass she had used for him when he was in almost the same position as she was just earlier. The sounds of Kagome's coughing rang out in the background as his head turned over thoughts. Maybe someone, somewhere with a higher power was tormenting him for everything he did in the past. Tormenting him by having him under the control of the race he had tortured for so long. Tormenting him by having to be taken care of by the girl he hated when he was wounded. And tormenting him by having him care for the same girl right after.

Cold water spilled over his fingers and he jumped at the shock. He had been thinking for so long, the water had overflowed from the glass. He bared his fangs at his blunder. It wasn't like him to space out. He spilled the excess water into the sink and then walked to Kagome's bedside. She took the glass of water from him. She held her breath so that she wouldn't cough as she drank. Inuyasha's eyebrows raised in surprise when she finished the whole glass in one breath. She sat hunched-over with the empty glass shaking slightly in her hands. She sighed loudly and calmed her heavy breathing.

"Ah jeez," She said through breaths. "Thanks. You saved my life." She shook her head with a disbelieving smile, remembering her coughing fit it seemed. Inuyasha stepped back at her comment. He became aghast at himself and aghast at what she said.

Saved her life? She would have died otherwise? But then he remembered how he had decided to keep saving her life until the curse was broken. But still, in his mind, it was bad. Wouldn't it really have been better if she died then? It would mean not having to wait.

Kagome stared at him as he cursed under his breath. Inuyasha glared down at her. They stared at each other for a moment. Then a grin appeared on Kagome's face. Inuyasha's mouth opened in a strange horror. "What?" He asked, staring. The grin broadened and Kagome shook her head. "What?" Inuyasha repeated in a louder tone. She laughed quietly and waved a hand, gesturing to him to forget it.

Inuyasha snatched the glass away from her and went to her bathroom. He slammed it on the counter and sneered at his own reflection. It was torture to keep doing things that made her grateful to him. It was absolute torture. What he was going through was a fate much, much worse than any kind of horrible murder he had seen, thought of, or committed. He pushed himself away from her counter and left the bathroom. "I feel a little better," He heard her say. "I'm not as nauseous..." She smiled up at him. He sneered. "How nice for you."

There were three light knocks on the door and it opened slowly. Yura stood in the doorway. "Ah," She saw Kagome was awake. "Finally..." She walked into the room, but she seemed cautious. Paranoid was a better word to describe it. "Kagome...What...?" She examined her niece. "Are you sick?" She asked, concern etching into her voice. Kagome tried to smile a little. "Yes." She said with a small nod. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome's window and tapped his claws against his arm in impatience.

"Listen..." Yura drawled carefully. Her eyes moved to the floor and she sighed sadly. "I was...In the reading room..."

"_Whoa_, amazing!" Inuyasha yelled with a blank look on his face. Kagome crinkled her nose at him. "And I was thinking a lot," Yura continued. "Dang, that must have hurt real bad..." Inuyasha said empathetically. Kagome's mouth opened a little at how he was taking advantage of the situation. "And all of a sudden, I pulled up this long hair from the chair." She said slowly. "I swear you're the luckiest person on the face of the earth." Inuyasha said with a stunned shake of his head.

"Be quiet!" Kagome said to him finally. His mouth closed, but he was smirking. Yura closed her mouth with a hurt expression and frowned. "Oh, no, not you," Kagome put her hands up. A queasy churn of her stomach caused her to stop speaking. "Listen Kagome," Yura started. "I followed a trail of blood outside the house."

Kagome's insides froze. She felt her heart stop.

"I followed it...for a long time." She stared into Kagome's eyes. Kagome was paralyzed and tried somehow to make herself go deaf. "The trail had an end, though." She said, sitting on Kagome's bed. "It ended at a crime scene." Kagome's face contorted and she felt her hands shaking. "There were police and FBI everywhere, Kagome. They wouldn't let me get through, but I saw some of the bodies. People were murdered there. The police told me that it appeared to be a bunch of gang members."

"What are you saying?" Kagome snapped suddenly, losing herself. "I don't need to hear this! Are you trying to say you think I killed them?" She shouted. Yura's eyes were serious, but she was trying to hide something. Kagome's head spun and her insides boiled with an ill feeling of guilt and fear. "The ways those boys were killed weren't normal." She said. Kagome's face was white and she clenched her teeth. "The police made me go back without answering most of my questions. But as I was coming home," She glanced at her lap for a moment and then looked back up at Kagome. "Two police men were sent to follow the trail of blood."

Kagome's eyes snapped open wide at the horrible feeling her stomach made. It traveled to her chest and made her neck force out a gag. She sat up and threw the covers off her. She felt Inuyasha's eyes on her. She tried to swallow her sick feeling down, but it wouldn't go away. Then she pushed herself off of her bed and rushed to the bathroom. She knelt in front of the toilet and let her insides empty themselves.

Her hands were shaky against the side of her toilet. She flushed and closed her eyes to listen to the sound of her vomit being washed away. She didn't want anyone in the room with her. She just wanted to wait out her sickness. Alone.

Yura appeared in the doorway just as Inuyasha walked into the bathroom. Before her aunt could speak, Inuyasha pressed his back against the door and shut it.

Kagome watched him with eyes clouded in sickness for a moment. His face was emotionless, but his eyes were moving over the wall rapidly as though he were shocked by something. He pushed himself away from the door and took a step towards Kagome. He turned his head away and held out a purple washcloth that had been next to her bed. Kagome stared up at him in surprise. White strands of hair covered his face just enough so that she couldn't see his eyes, but she could see his fang chewing his lower lip.

A sigh escaped Kagome's lips. She took the cloth and wiped her mouth with it. "Kagome," Her aunt yelled. Her voice was strained and cracking. "I'm trying to understand what's going on. Please open the door!" She slammed her fist against the hard wood of the bathroom door. Kagome rinsed her mouth out slowly with water from her sink and glanced up at her reflection.

'_Does this make me part of a murder?_' She wondered in horror. '_I was there and didn't stop it right away. I'm a murderer?_' She spit into the sink. "Kagome," Her aunt called again. "Please tell me what's going on. For real! You and me being serious with each other!" Her voice was stern. "I just wanna go back to bed." Kagome mumbled. She turned to open the door.

Inuyasha looked pale and was trying desperately to find a way to move out of her way as quick as possible. An amused smile found its way onto Kagome's face as she watched him. She didn't know quite what he was thinking but he looked funny. For a split second he took her mind away from her horrible situation. She turned her head onto her shoulder as she waited for him to move. He almost looked like he was being suffocated. "Is it that scary to be cornered by me?" Kagome asked more to herself than to him.

"Please open the door, Kagome!" Her aunt pleaded desperately. "You heard her," Kagome whispered to him. She pressed her back to the counter so that he could move out of her way. He pushed his back against the wall and slid away from her slowly, eyeing her like she was suspicious. When they were finally away from each other, Kagome pulled open the door.

Yura backed up so Kagome could come out. "Spill it all, Kagome." Her eyes were filled with tears, but her voice was firm. Kagome frowned deeply and swallowed, careful of her sore throat. "Tell me before the police get here to question us." She sat on the foot of Kagome's bed and folded her hands. She tried futilely to hide her trembling. Kagome walked backwards in thought until she got to her inflatable pink chair. She sat in it. Yura didn't want to waste time, but Kagome didn't want to begin.

"How did those men die, Kagome?" Yura asked. Kagome folded and bowed her head. "Inuyasha killed them." She mumbled.

Yura's lips stretched into a thin line of bright red as she examined her niece. Finally, she was going to be able to see into Kagome's mind after years. In her line of work, that was often referred to as 'opening the clam'. Different shapes and sizes and colors of pearls were used to describe the kind of feelings the patient had. But Yura was very afraid to find out what color Kagome's pearl was.

"Inuyasha killed them?" She echoed Kagome's answer. "Why did he do that, Kagome?" She was careful and understanding-sounding with her questions. Kagome glanced to her left as if she were staring at someone. When Yura looked, no one was there. Kagome lowered her eyes to the floor and leaned back into her chair. She wiped sweat from her forehead. "Because they were gonna mug me." She closed her eyes and let out a long breath through her nose. It was painful to Yura to see how sick Kagome was but still have to question her.

Yura's fingers twisted around her trench coat until the knuckles cracked. "So he protects you?" She asked. Kagome put her elbow on the arm rest of her chair and placed her forehead on her hand. "Yeah," She said. "Not that he wants to." She added. Yura felt the tugging of more questions, but she knew that there wasn't much time before the police got to their house. It was only a matter of minutes.

"I thought you said that he listens to you." She said. "Why didn't he listen to you when you told him to stop attacking?"

Kagome's eyes opened and she stared long and hard at the pink, swirling rug beneath her chair. Her breathing came out shaky and rattling. She closed her eyes gently, and then tighter, as Yura often saw when someone was trying to suppress a memory as best they could. "He did listen to me." She said with a slow nod, her eyes still closed. "He couldn't have killed them all in one second, Kagome." Yura said slowly. Of course, she didn't know if that was true or not. Maybe, somehow, he could. But she doubted it. Kagome leaned forward in her chair, burying her face in her hand. She used her other hand to wave the air on her left, warding something off.

"He...When..." Kagome ground her teeth and sighed. "I can't." She said quietly. Yura raised an eyebrow, her heart pounding. "You can't what, Kagome?" She licked her lips. "Leave the room." Kagome said, staring to her left. Yura shook her head and opened her mouth to try and reason with Kagome to let her stay. "Close the door." She said before Yura could speak. Yura's mouth opened and her eyes widened when the door shut tightly.

"He just...Started killing all of them." Kagome said at last. "I stood there just watching him because I couldn't move." She breathed. Yura's eyes watered and she shook her head. "Kagome..." She whispered. Her niece looked completely alone.

"After he got shot I found my voice again." She muttered tiredly. "And that's it. I told him to stop and he stopped. Two other guys were hurt, but they got away, I think." Yura's eyes closed and she bowed her head with a heavy sigh. "I see," She wrung her hands and let her mind race. "So he's able to get hurt even though no one can see him?" She asked, sitting up. When her eyes met her niece's, she knew that that question was definitely not the one to ask. Kagome's eyes were wide and horrified. Her face was stark white and her mouth hung open. "Ah...Kagome..." Yura quickly tried to redeem herself. "I didn't mean I was going to try and have him--"

She was cut short by the knocking on the front door. It pounded through the walls and itched in their ears. Both of their hearts sank greatly and they looked away from each other. "The most I can do for you is have you let off the hook for a mental illness case, Kagome." Kagome's eyes widened and she stood. "Not that I believe you're mentally ill," Yura added quickly in a serious voice. "But that's the most I can do. For a case like this, if you're convicted of murder of all those men, even in self defense..." She shook her bowed head. "The ways they were murdered were just too horrible. They'd put you down for life, or worse."

"Inuyasha," Kagome called in a hoarse, tight voice. Her door opened. Yura's eyes danced over the doorway, searching.

Tears spilled out of Kagome's eyes and she slapped her hands over her eyes harshly. She groaned through her clenched teeth. "We need to leave." She said with an audible lump in her throat. "_Fine_, get your shirt!" She yelled angrily, her voice cracking. She ran into her closet. Yura stood up and stroked her hands over her face in nervousness. "Kagome, please," She said in an urging voice. "Don't do this. It'll just add up! Running away isn't the right thing to do, Kagome." She hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "It'll just reflect on your guilt of this. They'll see it as fleeing. That's not something you want when you're going to be charged with murder!"

Kagome stumbled out of her closet, shaking, with a seemingly empty red book of notable size in her arms. "It didn't shrink, it's just because it hasn't dried all the way." Kagome said in a scolding tone. She swallowed and cleared the phlegm from her throat. Yura looked at Kagome's door in shock when it closed and locked on its own.

The voice of her sister-in-law talking to someone came in through the door. Kagome went to her night table's drawer and pulled out a fat wallet. She paused for a moment and then stared at her window. She ran for it. She ripped the curtains down in a frenzy along with the blinds. She unlocked the window and pulled it open. She punched the screen to break it, but it wouldn't budge. "Inuyasha," She whispered urgently. The next thing Yura knew, the screen came flying off and onto the grass outside.

Kagome grabbed the window sill and prepared to push herself out. "Don't tell Mom." She said quietly. She turned her head to meet eyes with Yura one last time. With that, she pushed herself out the window. Yura narrowed her eyes in anger and swallowed back a sob. She watched her niece disappear over a fence. "Why does everything bad always happen to you, Kagome?" She asked quietly through an anguished sob. She lowered herself to her knees and cursed herself for her own helplessness.

Fists slammed against the door and someone jiggled the doorknob vigorously. Yura smiled sadly and closed her eyes.

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **Dang, I'm so excited for the next chapter. I have all this crud planned...-snort- I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I decided to end it here. Seemed like just the right place to end, so I figured, "What the heck! n.n"_

_I hope you guys liked it. See you in the next one. Won't be too long a wait, I promise! x.x' (I hope so, at least...)_

_Reviews please, ma little fluffies. Buh-bye. ;3_

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	9. Page Nine

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_**Insane-san says: **Oh, for crying out loud. Do you guys know how happy I am with all the freakin' reviews I got? I was so touched and stuff! I mean, DUDE. That was so COOL how everyone reviewed! That was like, the most reviews I ever got for one chapter, seriously. If you guys could do that again, I'd seriously break-dance. And it wasn't just for this fanfiction, but for my other ones as well. I'm so effin' happy right now, I swear...Jeez... _

_Thanks. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks. You're so cool. I give you this chapter in appreciation. Now read it before I like...Kiss you or something... -snortlaughgigglesnort- Okay, shutting up._

_HAVE A GOOD DAY...err, night? Whatever! n.n_

* * *

Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page nine._

* * *

Kagome threw her legs over the guardrail of the highway.

Her legs were cold, and raw from the friction her jean skirt was making.

Her jacket flapped as she ran. Tears streamed out of her eyes and flew off of her face to disappear behind her. She could hear the rustling of Inuyasha's robes as he followed her. Shousetsu no Kowai got heavier and heavier the farther she ran. She knew she'd have to rest soon, but she didn't want to stop. After the jump over the guardrail she realized that she would probably never go back home unless Inuyasha was freed from his seal. It was scary to think of him without her control. It was either release him, or spend the rest of her life cloistered with him.

The latter made her insides churn sickly.

'_I'll be fine. I'm always okay in the end, right? I'll work this out. I'll be okay. I knew I would run away eventually, but I'm fine. I have money. I have money..._'

Branches reached out from their trees and scratched and pulled at her tauntingly. Kagome felt her fever pounding in her head. She tried to take deep breaths and just focus on running. It had been almost two hours since she had left the house. She'd been running non-stop since in silence, with Inuyasha un-questioning behind her. He hadn't said a word since they left. The thought came up every few seconds in her mind, '_What is he thinking?_'

She tried to tell herself she didn't care what he thought. If he thought she was stupid, bony, ugly, and useless. Just another pathetic example of a human being. But over time it felt strange to think about him seeing her that way.

Her eyelids burned with cold and her runny nose stung. Her legs itched from chafing and cold rainwater soaked in through her shoes. Her legwarmers weren't keeping true to their name, either. Soon, her mind was numb and she wasn't really thinking anymore. She was just running. Running and running without thinking of where she was running _to_. It was like a blanket draped over her head and sheltered her from all of her fearful, worried thoughts.

The area that surrounded her was thick with trees. Dead leaves littered the ground and the air was black from the night. Kagome somehow was able to find her way through the thick forest by guessing her way through. Suddenly it seemed like the roots from the trees were coming up to grab her legs and pull her down. She glared at the ground as she ran, mentally scolding it for not supporting her in her time of need. The forest was cruel and dark. It was completely silent save the sounds of her running and the flapping of Inuyasha's robes. She couldn't hear his footsteps, but she knew he was there. Running through the trees, running along the ground behind her…The thought was strangely comforting.

Her head gave a lurch and she stumbled over a large root. She recovered her balance quickly and continued running. Her hands became unfeeling from the icy-cold air. The air from her nose came out in two white, streaming clouds. Her tears had dried and crusted on her face. '_Why did I run?_' She asked herself in desperation. She let out a gasp and closed her eyes, legs faltering. '_Why did I run?_'

Her legs gave out from under her and she came crashing forward onto her stomach. The dark ground swirled around her and she let her eyes close. She felt her once even breathing become shaky and gasping. She began coughing violently, shaking harshly with each cough. Her throat felt like it was splitting in two and bleeding. Tears sprung from her closed eyelids and she felt someone grab her around the waist and turn her over. They closed her mouth and grabbed her arms tightly to keep her from pushing them away. Kagome's eyes snapped open wide and she felt herself suffocating. She needed to cough and gasp. Her body vibrated with fear and coughs.

She started taking in air through her nose. She moved herself around to try and escape from her unseen attacker. The more she breathed from her nose, the calmer her breathing became. She was able to swallow and she stopped coughing. She stopped gasping and relaxed. The person let her jaw go and released her arms. Kagome sighed through her nose. She heard the strange grumblings of someone close to her. The person picked her up and began to run at a steady pace. Kagome's mind held a strange confidence that she was safe with the person who carried her. She smiled and pressed her face into the person's warm shoulder.

Then she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

'_Was it in this direction?_' A young man asked himself. '_No, surely it was to the left...But then..._'

He raised his staff and pushed branches out of his way. The forest was thick and it was very early in the morning, so all was dark. The bottom of his dark robes brushed along the ground and cold water splashed over his sandaled feet. Neither seemed to faze him. A frown creased his handsome calm-looking face as he tramped on through the woods. '_I gave that old man a free palm reading just to get lost in these woods?_' He asked himself in disbelief. Despite his frustration, he kept on through the woods.

'_I'd better start seeing some tennyo soon,_' He warned the old man mentally. '_Or I'll...!_'

He moved a particularly heavy branch out of his path and stepped into a clearing. To his surprise, there was a large, smoldering fire, and a young girl sprawled out in front of a gigantic oak tree. To make sure he wasn't hallucinating, he did a quick double-take. He could feel the strong heat of the fire from where he stood even though it was a fair distance away. The girl's face was calm in her sleep, but something was troubling about it. He wondered for a moment if she was sick. Her long inky hair came down around her shoulders and face. She was thin and pale and almost seemed to glow. Her clothes were modern and her blue leg warmers were obviously too big for her slender legs.

'_Maybe that old man wasn't lying after all..._' He smiled wryly and walked into the clearing, careful with the sounds of his footsteps. He held the rings on his staff steady so that they wouldn't jingle and wake the girl. Slowly he made his way towards her. '_She gets more beautiful with each step._' He realized to himself. When he reached her, he sat on his heels before her and smoothed a hand over her forehead. '_Just as I suspected, she's burning up._' He glanced around the clearing for a moment and then back at her. '_What is she doing in a place like this all alone and ill?_' He wondered.

His eyes wandered down to her bare legs. Why any sane girl would run out on a winter night in a jean skirt was beyond him. He blinked and shook his head. He closed his eyes with a sigh. '_For a sick girl, why did she have to be so pretty? How will I take care of her with these thoughts in my head?_' He pressed a hand over his face.

"Perhaps I should wake her up..." He mumbled to himself quietly. Something in the girl's arms was blazing red from the light of the fire. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity and bent forward slightly. Though she slept, she held onto it tightly. He moved her arm slowly and took the thing from her arms. He pulled away from her slowly and sat back. He brushed his fingers against the scaly red cover. It was a very large book, but it wasn't full of pages. Its spine was black and curling like thick and thinning snakes or streams of smoke, and it was metallic and cold to the touch. His gaze hardened in interest and he opened the cover. A single page remained. It was a blank page. Nothing on either side. But the closer he looked at it, the more he got a bad feeling, as though he were looking at something evil that couldn't be seen by eyes.

He narrowed his eyes in thought. There was a sleeping girl in the middle of the woods of _wherever _in front of a roaring fire. She had a fever. In her arms was a big red book with a single white page that gave off a bad feeling. She had a fat black wallet in her fist which he didn't touch.

'_Who is this girl?_'

The fire behind him suddenly made a crunching sound. It blazed enormously and sparks flew up into the air. The boy jumped to his feet and spun around, staff readied in his hands. To his horror, a buck lay in the fire on its side, dead. The flames wrapped around its body and began to cook it. Horrible red slashes marred its sleek, muscular body. Its neck was more than obviously broken. The bone was twisted and splintered and almost piercing the neck flesh. He gaped in horror, unable to come up with an explanation for the strange thing he was seeing.

He glanced down at the book in his right arm and the staff in his left. '_A strange combination of weapons._' His purplish eyes scanned the line of trees in front of him. He was prepared for anything that was to come out. It must have been a huge, ferocious beast with claws and gnashing teeth and saliva dripping from its great jaws. He swallowed and narrowed his eyes. Tense minutes passed and still there was no sign of any such beast.

In a brave move, he stepped forwards towards the trees and away from the fire. He entered the forest and looked around, listening carefully. He heard movement in the fire behind him and spun around. The buck was a distance away from the fire, seemingly cooked.

'_What the heck is going on here?_' He wondered in a mix of fascination and fear. The buck was dead. It couldn't have jumped out of the fire on its own right when it was cooked enough to be eaten. He stepped closer to the fire and placed his eyes on the girl. She slept on.

"This is too weird." He said to himself in a serious tone. "Pretty young girls sleeping in forests, bucks--..." A strange change in the atmosphere caused his heart to flutter in his chest. It was a strange, swirling, sick feeling. It was thick and dark. He breathed it in and swallowed. '_A dark aura indeed,_' He closed his eyes in concentration. '_But where is it coming from? Or who, rather? Certainly not the girl..._' Years of training had his mind calm in such situations. His body turned to the feeling and stopped. He opened his eyes.

The aura was definitely coming from the buck. '_No...It's next to the buck._' He focused. There should have been someone next to the buck, he reasoned. But there was no one. The buck was dead, it had no aura. Even if it had, it wouldn't have been such a strange kind.

He sidestepped to the girl and knelt down by hear head, staring at the feeling of the dark aura. He placed the book down against her arms and stood. He backed away slowly. The aura calmed and the thickness lessened. The young man tilted his head to the sky. It was turning a deep blue. It was probably seven in the morning or so. He turned his head to the girl. '_I can't stay for much longer. But if I come back, will she be gone?_' He frowned at the thought of that loss and sighed. He had become very interested with her over the time he had been near her. There was much he wished to ask her.

A loud groan interrupted the silence, followed by a female voice. "Be quiet, be quiet!" She groaned. His head snapped down to the girl. "What the heck are you waking me up to?" She sat up slowly and shook her head around. Her black hair fluttered around her and settled on her shoulders. She pressed her palm to her head and sighed loudly. "Oh, what...?" Her voice had calmed and she was staring spaced-out in the direction of the fire. "Don't play dumb tricks on a girl when she just wakes up." She said in a quiet, offended way. "No, I won't. Don't be such a kid. What're you gonna say after, 'Made ya look' or something?"

The young man gazed in wonder. His breath was stuck in his chest as he listened to her conversation.

"As you can probably tell if you have the _slightest_ compassion in your..._evil_ body," She said, standing up. She stretched her limbs and grunted. She sighed and relaxed herself. "I'm sick and I just ran away from home. Can't you take that into consideration for even a split second?" She slapped her arms to her sides. "So quiet about the whole dumb," She put her hands up and made a stupid-looking face. "'_LOOK BEHIND YOU, IDIOT!_'"

She buttoned up her jean jacket and snuggled into it. "Do you swear?" Her voice was venomous and she narrowed her eyes. He took it she wasn't much of a morning person. Suddenly her face relaxed a little and her tone was kinder. "Okay then, I'll trust you." The young man swallowed harshly and raised an eyebrow. He saw the girl's head turning towards him. Their eyes met.

Slowly, her face changed. It went from annoyed, to passive, to confused, to shocked, to scared, to curious, to cautious.

"Who...?" She stared, backing up a few steps. She bent down to pick up the empty book. She hugged it and sniffed harshly. She pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her skirt and blew her nose loudly. Her eyes were a little bloodshot and there were circles under her eyes. "You'd better tell me who you are or you're gonna experience some really _weird_ stuff." She said carefully.

Miroku's heart jumped and he stared. "I'm...Miroku." He put an arm across his chest and bowed. He straightened up smoothly with a charming smile. The girl nodded with a raised eyebrow. He waited anxiously for her to give her name, but she didn't.

"So...why are you here?" She asked. Miroku shrugged off his disappointment and cleared his throat. "I was informed of..." His voice trailed off quietly. "Strange entities here." He looked into her blue-grey eyes and examined their delightful color. "Entities, huh?" She yawned.

Miroku glanced around at his surroundings and tried not to seem too excited about his strange finding of the girl. "I'm a simple monk, young miss." He tried his best to sound polite. Something about the girl made him want to try extra hard to be a presentable person. "I often do special errands for the people who live around here. For a reasonable price, of course. I live in a temple. It isn't that far from here, I think..." His voice trailed off as he looked into the woods to his right. He looked back at her. "You're more than welcome to come stay untill you're well." The girl's eyes narrowed slightly in a suspicious look. She glanced at the fire and mumbled something. Miroku looked at the fire. His eyes fell upon the buck.

His mouth opened when he saw that it was more than half eaten already. "Wh...Wha..." He raised his black eyebrows in awe. "What kind of beast...?" The girl laughed as she sat by the buck. He smiled at the sound. '_At least I've brought _some_ amount of good into this...situation._' He thought. "Do you even have to _ask_ why I laughed?" She asked under her breath with a grin. Her mouth formed a smile and she stared to her left. "_Fine_, fine, you're a killing machine…"

The girl knelt close to the dead animal. She seemed a little confused as to how to remove the meat from the dead animal. She put her hands on one spot only to change her mind and bring them somewhere else. Miroku shook his head and glanced up at the sky. He didn't know whether it was a good idea to get involved with the odd girl. It was easy to make a decision after looking at her again. She was just too beautiful to pass up. He would help her to the best of his abilities and try his best to get to know her better.

'_It isn't every day that I stumble into the woods searching for tennyo and actually get to meet one._' He thought with a smile.

Nodding in determination, he looked back at her and opened his mouth to inform her of the best way to get the meat off the buck. To his utter astonishment, a pile of the meat sat neatly at her side already. Miroku's mouth opened in shock. "Miss," He called in a far-away voice. The girl looked up as she chewed slowly. "Is there..." He tried to put his thoughts to words without sounding too dumb.

"Someone with you...?"

The girl flashed a smile and put a piece of meat in her mouth. They stared into each other's eyes for a long while before Miroku realized he wasn't going to get an answer other than her stare. He broke the gaze and sighed with his eyes closed. '_Why am I so attracted to people who act insane?_' The girl reached into the pocket of her jean skirt and pulled out a bottle of pills. She took one and swallowed it down. "Don't give me that face. It's fever medicine." She murmured to whoever was at her left. "It's gonna make me sleepy, but I need it right now, so just be aware of that." She said with a nod. "Oh, because of the side affects...No, they're rare..._Sometimes_, not all the time...I'm just saying to be aware. No, it'll probably be fine…Just mild things…I don't know…No, it's never happened…Trust me, I'll probably just get really sleepy. Really!"

Miroku scratched the back of his neck nervously and glanced around the clearing.

The sound of shoes sliding over wet grass caught his ears. He looked back at the girl and saw her standing up. She frowned apologetically to her left and shook her head. Her face changed into a near-angry one and she crossed her arms. "Well thanks for being so concerned about my well-being! Yeah, that means more for you, you pig." She scoffed and turned her back to whoever she was talking to. "Yeah, that's why you're so fat and heavy." She said in a teasing voice. She laughed over her shoulder. Her eyes caught Miroku and she shushed herself. '_I wonder...Who it is she's speaking to?_' Miroku pondered the possibilities. '_Maybe the ghost of a dead loved-one?_'

"This temple," The girl began; her voice quiet and questioning. Miroku listened completely, happy for some recognition. "Is it close by?" She asked. Something about the question was a bit dodging. He answered her anyway. "Well, I know the direction it's in...But..." He scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile. "To be quite honest, I'm not that sure how far away it is at this point. No more than twenty minutes, I'm sure..."

"It's a big temple?" She looked at him. He nodded slowly, pondering. "Yes, it's big. There are three separate buildings in kind of a triangular setting around each other, each about as big as a large three-story house." He put on a proud smile and waited in hopes that she would decide to spend time at the temple. The girl seemed to be in serious thought about something for a few moments. Her bangs hid her eyes and she was mumbling inaudibly to herself. Then he realized that she wasn't speaking to herself, she was speaking to _someone_. The girl raised her head and wet her lips. "Are there...Many people?" She asked hesitantly. "Oh, uhh...Well, at the temples, there are only a bunch of old monks. I'm the youngest." He laughed in a quirky embarrassment and quickly silenced himself.

"I'll go." She said. "But just for a while."

Miroku's head pounded in a boyish excitement and he tried to act cool and mature. "Ah, great," He put on a dashing smile and nodded his head to the forest. "Would you follow me, then?" The girl narrowed her eyes and put a hand up to cup an ear. Miroku's eyes showed his confusion. She hadn't heard him?

"I said, would you--" She put her hand up to silence him. He snapped his mouth shut.

The girl turned in annoyance to her left and stared. "Please be quiet." She said in a stern voice. Miroku raised an eyebrow. She turned back to face him and looked at him attentively. He tried to shrug off what just happened and said, "Since you'd like to go, would you please follow me?" The girl nodded and hugged her things to her chest. Her eyes widened a little and she said, "Ah, the fire..." She turned around and looked around, possibly for something to put out the fire.

"Miss," Miroku walked towards her. The girl looked back at him. "I think I have something..." He reached a lazy hand into his robes and pulled out a bottle of black powder. "This is normally to ward off evil spirits, but I've discovered another use for it."

He stepped forward to the fire and pulled the cork off the glass bottle. He threw the bottle into the fire. The glass shattered loudly and the powder flew all around. The fire was dowsed immensely and then vanished. Miroku looked over his shoulder at the girl's stunned face and winked. She grinned and let out a laugh. '_I'll have to do more things like this in the future._' He told himself in amusement. He twitched mentally. '_She's so pretty...No, I must resist any advancements untill she's well...I have at least that much dignity as a man!_' He nodded in confidence.

"Hah, you could _not_ have done that." The girl said with a grin over her shoulder. Miroku glanced to where she was looking and saw nothing. He turned back around and led the girl into the forest. "Hey," The girl said. Miroku lifted his staff to move a branch out of her way. He smiled to show he was listening.  
The girl's face was serious. "Aren't you freaked out that it looks like I'm talking to an imaginary friend?" She asked. Miroku was taken aback by the unexpected question. He paused and thought of a good reply. "To tell you the truth...It's...Sort of interesting to me. I feel like I want to know you more." He said.

The girl shrugged with a nod and turned her head away to show that she was finished speaking. Miroku continued leading her through the woods, praying with all his might that he would remember the way and not get them lost.

* * *

Kagome yawned.

Her face was exploding the look of boredom.

'_He said twenty minutes. It's been forty. Maybe I should have listened to Inuyasha..._'

She shook her head. '_Since when do I listen to _him_? Jeez, I need to snap out of it._' Every now and then Miroku would mumble to himself. "These are my footsteps! Oh...No, clearly those..." And his voice would trail off to some far-away land where people lived in denial of the fact that they were lost. Completely lost.

"I told you so, but did you listen?" Inuyasha whined in annoyance. He was probably as bored as she was. For a few seconds, Kagome felt a strange bond between them. They were both in the same boat, utterly alone without any family or friends. They only had each other. Even though they didn't like each other that much, they were together. When Kagome ran, he ran, too. He stopped her almost fatal coughing fit, carried her to a nice camp site, built a huge fire to keep her warm, and even killed a giant buck so she could eat something. Even though it didn't taste very good and it grossed her out a little, she ate it just because he killed it for her. Well, maybe he killed it for himself. But the fact that he was willing to share was what really mattered.

'_There has to be some kind of mistake._' She thought to herself. She turned her head to the sky. A few birds flew overhead, crying out to one another. '_Is it because I have control over him that he's not _so _scary? The thought of him really being such an evil guy...Killing innocents left and right and having everyone under his thumb..._' Her face twisted in disgust at the thought of being under Inuyasha's control.

Kagome glanced back at Inuyasha. He glared all around himself as he walked, almost pouting. He wasn't happy about something. It was obviously bugging him. She figured the problem was Miroku. Telling him that she had decided to go to the temple had blown a few too many gaskets in Inuyasha's mind. He flipped into a tantrum and was so loud that Kagome couldn't even hear Miroku speak. She sighed and looked in front of her. Miroku seemed happy. It sounded like he had finally found the way back to his temple. They were walking at a quick pace along a gravel path. '_Why do I always get stuck with weird guys?_' She asked herself with a hopeless sigh.

She didn't trust Miroku. His motives were unclear to her, so she questioned him often in her mind. '_Well, I didn't decide to follow him because I trusted him...Just stay there for a little while in some proper shelter untill this dumb cold passes._' She sniffed loudly to ease her runny nose. Miroku lifted his strange golden staff and moved branches out of his path. He was out of breath and grinning. Kagome followed him under the branches. Sun beams came through and blocked her vision. She squinted and stumbled forward. She put a hand up to shield her eyes and saw three large old Japanese-style buildings.

"Ahh, they're pretty!" Kagome gasped with a smile. She glanced over her shoulder to see Inuyasha's reaction. His face was irritated and he was constantly shooting dirty looks in Miroku's general direction. His white shirt and hair billowed in the winter breeze, but the cold didn't seem to bother him. The shirt was slightly see-through so she could see his muscles underneath. He crossed his arms and scowled up at the temples they were walking towards. Kagome's heart made a surging feeling in her chest. She blinked and whipped her head away.

'_Whoa...What the heck...?_' Her heart hammered and her face was hot. She cleared her throat. Shrugging it off, she hugged her arms tighter around the book which had brought her life crashing down. "MIROKU!" A booming voice called. Kagome jumped and looked up, her heart pounding in shock at the sudden loud voice. Inuyasha grumbled a few low, annoyed curses and stood in front of Kagome. Miroku stumbled backwards away from the entrance of the main temple. He cringed and put his hands up in defense. "M-Mushin!" He laughed joyously, trying to hide his nervousness. A large, squatty kind of man came almost waddling towards them. He was dressed in the same type of robes as Miroku, only his were an orangey-brown on black.

Mushin huffed and straightened himself up in front of Miroku. "I was told by our fellow monks that you ran off into the woods again!" His voice boomed scoldingly. Miroku winced and put a hand behind his head. "Well, that...You see...I was doing--"

"No excuses!" Mushin yelled. "It's not _why_ you ran off," He huffed. "It's the fact that you _did_! You know the rules!" Miroku lowered his head with a closed-eye sigh and waved a hand to signal his defeat. "Sorry, Mushin..." Mushin sniffed loudly and rubbed under his eyes. Upon closer inspection, Kagome realized that he may have been drunk. She raised an eyebrow. '_What kind of place is this?_' She wondered. Mushin turned his body to look at her head-on. He blinked slowly a few times, twitching his red nose. "Who are you?" He asked in a daze. Kagome glanced over her shoulders and then faced Mushin again. "Oh, I'm...just some girl..." She stared hard into his eyes, waiting for a reply. Nervousness flooded her and her throat formed a lump.

Mushin's face lit up and he laughed. "Oh, splendid. Feel free to stay as long as you like." He turned around and walked into a temple.

Kagome sighed quietly at her luck and moved hair from her face. Her eyes wandered to the clouds. She wondered if the police were trying to track her. Or maybe they thought Yura did it, or even her mother. She couldn't have put them in so much trouble, could she? And what did Yura tell the police? Kagome's face paled at the thoughts that went through her head. She frowned and stared sadly at the ground. '_The real reason I ran…_'

"Hey, air-head!" Kagome broke away from her thoughts and looked up. Inuyasha was already well on his way into the largest temple. Miroku didn't realize he was leading him right inside. "Ah! I'm coming!" Kagome ran after him. Her head felt light for a moment when she saw that he actually waited a little while for her to catch up. He turned and continued walking. Kagome slowed to a stop behind him and followed him in. Miroku lead, Inuyasha followed, and Kagome followed him. '_That was so odd. I didn't even tell him to wait._' She concentrated on his back and raised an eyebrow. '_There really wasn't any reason for him to...He does hate me..._' She looked up at his twitching ears, her mind foggy.

'_...Doesn't he?_'

Inuyasha's body went rigged and he spun around to give her a dirty look. Kagome jumped in shock. "Quit starin' at me, wench!" He snapped. Kagome's pulse quickened and she smiled in embarrassment. She wrung her hands - a nervous habit. "Sorry, I was spaced out." She said apologetically. He raised an eyebrow. A fang was visible from his closed mouth. "Whatever," He said in an arrogant voice. "Just cut it out." His eyes bore into her and it felt like they were ripping out her soul. Kagome swallowed and glanced away slowly. Her mind felt like it was passing in and out of reality. As if she were sleeping and awake at the same time. She let her eyelids droop and allowed herself to sink further into the strange feeling of comfort and sleep.

"You know," Kagome said slowly. "I've been thinking about this saying lately...How does it go...?" She stared at the ceiling. "The weak may fall...but the mighty fall..._harder_." Inuyasha's eye twitched and he looked insulted. "Excuse me?" He asked. Kagome flicked her eyes away from the ceiling to look at his. "Oh...I dunno..." She said in a dazed voice.

Inuyasha sniffed the air and examined her closely. She was acting unusual. Of course, it wasn't like he knew her well enough to know what was or wasn't usual...He was simply taking note of some strange behavior. He tried to shrug the feeling off. "Well, if what you said is true," Inuyasha began. "Then you just said the weak fall first! So you're gonna die before me!" He crossed his arms with a grin.

Kagome blinked and seemed to be taking to thought what he said. "Well, if what _you _said is true, and you're mightier," She began. "Then you're gonna have a bad death..." She sighed and shook her head slowly. Inuyasha twitched and glared. "That's fine if it means you'll die before me." He said lowly. Then it looked as though a strange wave of depression hit Kagome and she made a very sad face. "Ughhh...I don't wanna die...!" She whined quietly. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. His head pulsed at her discomfort and he threw a dirty look at her. "Heh...Well that's too bad. You're gonna die sooner than you think." He smirked darkly, trying to scare her.

Kagome stumbled very close to him and grabbed his arm. She stared up at him with eyes filled with tears. "You'll protect me from death though, right?" She blurted out in question. Inuyasha's eyes widened in confusion and he desperately tried to shake her off his arm. "Ge...Get offa me, you--!" Kagome shoved him away before he could finish speaking and gave him a very intimidating glare. Her eyes were unfocused and foggy and she was slouched over with her head lolled to her shoulder. "Don't grab at me." She said in a strange, cruel voice. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and thought stared. "I don't _like_ you like that, okay?" She waved a hand as if to send him away. "Keh!" Inuyasha gave her a disgusted glare.

"How man--..." She yawned. "How many times to I have to _tell_ you, Hojo?" Inuyasha's eyelids closed half-way and he twitched an eyebrow. Kagome stepped closer to him and wagged a finger in a scolding fashion. Inuyasha stepped backwards in response until his back hit the wall behind him. "If you keep on bugging me, I'll have to get Inuyasha to come..." She murmured sleepily. Inuyasha snorted. "Tch...You--!" Kagome suddenly grabbed the hair that hung down by his face and pulled his face close to hers. She gave him a confused look of searching and raised an eyebrow. "Hojo, be quiet." She mumbled. Inuyasha's face was a deep shade of red and he struggled to maintain what was left of his composure. "I don't like talking to you...Inuyasha's much, much cooler." Kagome said with a haughty glare.

Inuyasha's blood pulsed and his mouth opened in shock. He blinked quickly and tried to slowly move himself away from her. Kagome pulled him closer in response to his struggling. "Is that you, Inuyasha...?" She asked in a daze, looking closer at his face.

"Yes it's me, you fool! Now...Go away!" He blurted out, trying to move away. She laughed loudly and let go of his hair. She smacked his shoulder and laughed. Inuyasha clenched his jaw shut and stared at her in a horrified shock. '_She's gone mad...!_' Kagome threw her hands over her face and sneezed loudly. She moved her hands from her face and stared at them. Her face twisted. "Eww, gross..." She stretched her words to emphasize the disgust. She pulled her handkerchief from her skirt pocket and wiped her hands, sniffing loudly. She put it back into her pocket. Slowly, her eyes closed and her knees buckled.

Inuyasha twitched and felt himself move in front of her and catch her before she fell. Kagome rolled over with her eyes closed and wrapped her arms around his neck. She snuggled into him and sighed sleepily. Inuyasha's head pulsed and his face burned red. His insides ached and his heart beat strangely in his chest. '_What is this...Illness...?!_' He yelled in his head.

"Yes, she's right over here. So, with your permission...What the--!" Miroku stared in shock at the sleeping Kagome curled up on the ground. An old monk walked hunched-over next to him. Some part of Inuyasha was desperate for the human boy to run over and take the horrible girl away from him, but a different part of him wanted to stay with her clinging to him and sleeping. The thoughts in his head stunned him and he tried to reason with himself that to have them take her away was obviously the better choice. It was so simple, yet the closer Miroku got, the angrier Inuyasha felt himself become.

"What's wrong?" Miroku called out, rushing over. When he came to be in front of her, Inuyasha kicked his leg out and rammed it into Miroku's knee. Miroku cried out in pain and stumbled backwards. He fell onto his back and groaned, crunching his leg up to his chest. The feeble-looking monk that accompanied him hobbled to his side with a start. "Miroku!" He wheezed. He helped Miroku to his feet. Inuyasha sneered at them and then sneered at himself. He dared to glance down at Kagome. She was smiling stupidly in her sleep and still clung to him. Inuyasha swallowed and narrowed an eye. No one had ever grabbed at him or smacked him before as she had done earlier. He was still getting over the shock of her strange treatment of him. How could anyone be so foolish as to do those things? And there she was, hugging him loosely in her sleep with an idiotic smile.

"Hakushin, I think I finally know what's going on." Miroku said in a quiet tone of stiff realization. The old man stared down at him. "_Of course_ there's someone with her...Something inhuman...I know now. I realize what it means. The book, the girl, the dead buck, the strange conversations...Why didn't I realize it sooner?" He stared in amazement at Kagome. A vein swelled on Inuyasha's temple and he felt a growl rip from his throat. He blinked in surprise at his actions and tried to swallow it down.

"Hakushin, we'll watch her for now...At a distance. When she wakes up, you'll see. I'll tell you everything I'm thinking, and we can talk to her." Miroku grinned at Hakushin. "My old friend, this is perhaps the most amazing discovery in the history of discoveries."

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_**Insane-san says: **Augh, gad! I hated this chapter. I really did. I'm so overly-critical of myself, I know...I'm overjoyed if you loved it. I feel like since I've been flaming myself through the whole thing, that you guys are gonna flame me. -nervous grin- I had to re-write this chapter several times. The start stayed the same though. That's like, the only part I'm satisfied with. Well, that's the life of a writer I suppose...Ah, anyways, if you loved it, awesome. Next chapter's gonna be a lot better, trust me. It should be longer, too. _

_At least we got to see some Inuyasha gushing. LOL And Kagome's medication side-effects were pretty good too, I guess. I didn't want to get too graphic...Heheheheheeheh...-cough-_

_I feel like Miroku just suddenly walked into an AA meeting with Inuyasha and Kagome and they're both staring at him blankly, and he introduces himself and they both say in unison, "Hiiiii, Mirokuuuu." He isn't going to play a major part, but he should stick around for at least two more chapters. Poor kid. Hah...Dang, I'm making myself laugh. That can't be good..._

_I proof-read this chapter at least four times, ran it through two spell-checkers...I seriously pray it's fine.  
_

_Thanks for reading, as always. Please review! Thank you. Good-bye my fluffies... ;3_

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	10. Page Ten

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_**Insane-san says: **Ahh, my fluffies...We arrive once again to a brand spanking new chapter...Hmm, maybe lemony fresh would be better. OH NO WAIT. Lemony fresh?! Never mind! XD THIS ISN'T LEMON! -headdesksnort- _

_I am much, MUCH happier with this chapter than my last one. Even though you expressed that you loved it (which I am so, so grateful for), I'm happier with how this one turned out (being the stubborn authoress I am). _

_As many of you do (or do not) know, while writing, there are **always** typos. Of course I do my best to catch every one of them in spell checkers and such or simply while I'm typing, I see them. One in particular had me laughing for a very long time. XD I was typing fingers, okay? Fingers. And I typed Giners. XD WTH MAN. It sounds like some dirty word for something I shouldn't speak of...in...public! -SNEEZE- Darn. Anyway..._

_A new character makes his appearance here. Bokusen-On. (If you don't remember who he is, I'm not going to tell you because I'm already spoiling something or other by revealing his name. DON'T RUSH TO LOOK HIM UP ON WIKI BEFORE YOU READ THIS, EITHER! You little villains... -eyes you-) There was much dispute between me and my dear wikipedia on this name. Bokusen'On? Bokusen-On? Bokusenon? Or perhaps Bokusen-on? You see, I was quite...confused. I tried searching for him in my Inuyasha mangas, but I couldn't remember which volumes he appears in. (There are 49 volumes and it's quite a chore to search through the lovely things.) Heh... Well, enough of my insane ramblings. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. And as for your reviews, thank you SO much once again. Reviews seriously keep me motivated in my writing. It's like, I get a review, and then I'm all hyped up and go write huge chunks of fanfiction. So the more you review, the faster these come out... ;D_

_Oh, and happy late Halloween! I hope yours was a good one. I won't get deep into mine, but I scared at least a hundred little kids with my old man mask, as well as made quite a few burst into tears. (I'm horrid, I know.) Several people also thought I was mechanical...-sweat- Until I jumped off my chair or snapped my head in their direction...In which they responded to with a gasp or a scream... -dark giggle-_

_ Enjoy the chapter!  
_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page ten._

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"Hey Kagome, wake up." A playful voice shattered the silence. Kagome's eyes fluttered open.

"Huh...?" She blinked at the ceiling with a tired expression and took in a deep breath. Her joints cracked as she sat up.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings slowly in confusion. She was in a beautiful bedroom fit for a princess. Shining marble made up the floor and magnificently detailed furniture lined the walls. Vases full of roses and sunflowers sat upon the dressers and tables in the room and made up a nice scent. She sat on a bed with gold and red patterns in the blankets and bright red pillow cases. Golden curtains of silk hung down next to the bed and swayed slightly from the breeze that came in through the open window.

The bed was soft under her hands and she stroked it slowly. Her eyes danced around the room in wonder until they landed on the window to the left of her. See-through curtains of gold danced lazily in the night-time wind from the large open window. A boy sat on the window seat of bright red velvet with a fanged grin on his face. His hair was long and white and flowing in the breeze almost on-beat with the curtains. His eyes were bright gold and two dog ears sat on his head. His clothes were red and gold in a style that made Kagome think of a prince from Cinderella. He matched the room in a bright, almost beautiful way and Kagome was speechless for a moment.

"Inuyasha...?" She murmured in quiet fascination. She swallowed and tried to understand what was happening. "Where...Am I? And what the heck are you...?" She watched him stand up with a frown. "Why are you asking me so many questions?" He asked offendedly. "Don't you trust me?" He asked with narrowed eyes. Kagome's heart skipped a beat in a strange guilt and she bowed her head as she looked at him. "S-sorry...I'm just...a little confused is all." She said softly. Despite her apology, his gaze was the same prying one. Kagome shrunk back a little and watched him. "I said," He stared at her. "Don't you trust me?" Kagome swallowed loudly and felt her eyes widen. Her mind calculated the question slowly until it came up with an answer. "Yes, Inuyasha..." She said with a small frown.

His face lit up and he grinned. He jumped forward onto her bed and knelt in front of her. The mattress bounced and Kagome tried to keep her balance. "I'm your friend, right?" He asked excitedly, grabbing her hands. Kagome felt her cheeks change color at his strange behavior. She blinked several times at his happy face and stammered, "Well, I...Guess...!" He lowered his head and stared up at her through his silver bangs. His face held a pouting look and he made sure she saw it. "Then why are you going to seal me away into the book again, Kagome?" He asked in a sad voice.

Kagome's heart hammered in her chest and she wet her lips. "Seal you...?" She echoed him cautiously. He glared in hate and tightened his grip on her hands until Kagome's face winced with discomfort. "You're a liar." He hissed. Kagome's pupils shrank and she felt her breath get caught in her throat. "No..." She whispered. He tightened his grip more. "You _are_ a liar. You're lying even now." His eyes stabbed into her own and Kagome couldn't look away. "You don't trust me. You don't think of me as your friend." He spat angrily. Kagome shook her head harshly. "You hate me just like you hate everyone else!" He yelled in her face. "NO!" Kagome screamed, slamming her teary eyes shut.

His face calmed and he threw her hands away from him. "No?" He repeated her slowly. Kagome's body shook with each deep breath that entered her lungs. She clenched her teeth and knitted her eyebrows up in a frown. "No," She whispered. "I don't hate you." Inuyasha's face showed a satisfied smile and he rubbed his fingers over her face to clear away the tears. "You trust me?" He asked again in a quiet voice. Kagome bit back her sobs and tried to calm her trembling as he wiped her tears away. "Yes." She said. "Do you think of me as your friend?" He asked, moving a strand of hair from her face. She bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Yes..."

Inuyasha moved his face close by her ear and took a breath. He waited a moment before speaking. "But Kagome," He began. "...People who trust others and think of others as their friends don't usually seal them into books...do they?" He asked, his voice manipulative.

Kagome's head pounded and she gripped her fingers tightly into the thick covers of the bed. She shook her head in response to his question. "Aren't you being a little selfish, Kagome?" He asked in a boyish voice and pushed himself away to look at her face. His eyes held an almost psychotic glinting as he stared at her. Kagome felt her pulse quicken. "Did you ever think about what I wanted?" Kagome frowned and curled her hands into fists. "I have," She said calmly. "But I...Just...It's difficult to think about...Having to keep you under control for my entire life. And being the only one able to see and talk to you...It's...difficult." She mumbled, looking away. "If I manage to find a way to break your curse, then you'll be unleashed into the world. Who knows what you'll do?" She asked as she looked back at him.

His eyes were that same strange look of psychotic-ness and a fang showed from his closed lips. "I thought you said you trusted me, Kagome." He said carefully. Kagome's eyes widened and she held her breath. "I...Do." She said with a nod. "But I just don't...Know...What might happen. That's all." She stared earnestly into his eyes and waited for his reply. Moments passed in silence and he continued to stare at her.

Eager to replace the sickening silence, Kagome began speaking. "If I seal you into the book, then everything would be solved."

In a horrifying split second, Inuyasha's face twisted in rage and he slammed a hand forward around her neck. Kagome fell backward into the bed and gasped. He tightened his grip more and more until her face was red and her head pulsed loudly in her ears. Kagome stared helplessly up into his murderous eyes and felt tears of pain drip from her eyes down her hot face. Her hands were clenched tightly around his wrist and she struggled. "WHAT WILL BE SOLVED?" He screamed. "DO YOU THINK THAT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY?" He squeezed tighter around her neck. Kagome choked and trembled beneath him. "I thought I was your _friend_, Kagome!" He said in a cruel voice of mocking. "I thought you _trusted_ me!" Kagome sobbed and closed her eyes tightly and tried to force out words.

"I...Do...Trust...You...!" She choked. "LIAR!" He screamed into her face. "You don't trust anyone! You don't even trust your_self_!" He pushed her down further into the mattress. "I'd be good to you!" He yelled with sad eyes. "I'd be your friend!" He narrowed his eyes in anger. "But you don't _care_. You don't want me or _anyone _else in your life." Kagome tried desperately to shut out his words. "Your mother hates you, your father left you to rot, your aunt wanted to turn you in to the cops, and you have. No. Friends!"

Kagome's heart felt tight at his biting words and her vision became blurred. She clenched her teeth and dug her fingers into his long, velvety sleeve. "YOU...ARE..." She tried to gasp. "MY..." She shut her eyes tightly. "FRIEND...!" Her hands fell from his wrist and she felt her last breath leave on that word. The angry hand around her neck left her and she sucked in a gasp.

Her body trembled all around her and she gasped in as much air as she could. Inuyasha put his hands under her back and pulled her up. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed the side of his face onto her shoulder. "Okay, Kagome." He said in soothing voice. He smoothed his hands over her back and Kagome felt herself relax into him. Tears spilled down her face and she tried to catch her breath. Her neck ached painfully. "You won't ever seal me away?" He asked as he ran a clawed hand through her long black hair. "No," She said through a choked sob. She lowered her forehead to his shoulder and tried to swallow the lump of tears in her throat. Something inside of her was trying to get her to realize her hate for him. He had choked her to near death. Somehow, it was easy to forgive him. He could have stabbed her a dozen times and she still would have been okay with him. Her head felt light at her strange thoughts and she shook her head.

Inuyasha moved himself away from her and put a hand under her chin. He tilted her head up to him and stared down into her rain-colored eyes. "You trust me, we're friends, you'll never seal me away, and you promise you'll try to find a way to break this curse?" He asked. Kagome swallowed and nodded. "I promise." She mumbled quietly. Inuyasha smiled happily and traced his claws along her cheek. Kagome's heart fluttered and her face reddened. He grabbed her chin and began lowering his face towards hers. Kagome's eyes widened and she held her breath.

"I SAID," Someone yelled. "KEEP YOUR VOICE _DOWN_! SHE'S _SLEEPING_!"

Kagome's eyes snapped open and she stared at the shock of white ceiling above her. The top of her head was touching the ground and she was in a strange, sprawled out position, but she felt much less ill. Her stomach was hungry instead of ready to vomit and her nose wasn't runny. Her throat was cool and she didn't feel the need to cough. The voice had been Miroku's, she was sure. On that thought, she remembered where she was. At his temple. She blinked at the ceiling and felt odd. A strange warmth surrounded her, almost like someone's body. Some kind of cloth was brushing against her. She raised an eyebrow and pulled her head up.

Her eyes met with gold ones. There was a strange pause of searching stares. Inuyasha's face contorted in an almost comical look of shock. Kagome's face twisted in the same way, and her dream came rushing into her like a speeding train. She opened her mouth in a surprised and embarrassed scream at the same time Inuyasha did. They shoved each other away and jump backwards. "WHAT...WHAT...WHAT...WHAT THE HECK?" She screeched. She had been sleeping on his lap. Her face burned and she glared swords into his face. Inuyasha tried to raise himself up to his full height as he glared at her from a distance. "Wha-WHAT DO YOU MEAN, _WHAT THE HECK_?" He blurted out.

"I mean," She seethed with an embarrassed face. "What the heck was I doing sleeping on you?" She asked loudly, trying to get a grip on herself. Inuyasha laughed into the air in an attempt to hide his nervousness. "You stupid fool!" He scoffed. "As if I would let you sleep on me...! Those weird _sly defect_ things kicked in and you...ordered...me to sit still as you slept!" He snapped quickly.

"I did _what_?" She gasped, slapping her hands to her cheeks to hide her blushing. "W...What else...Did I do?" She asked carefully with a raised eyebrow. Inuyasha's eyes flicked around the room, thinking quickly for an escape route. Realizing the situation was in his favor, he smirked at her. "Oh, a lot of things." He said casually. Kagome blinked in horror and she shook her head, her black hair flying around her. "Be quiet!" She shouted, pointing at him. His mouth closed and he looked as though he was trying his best to glare.

'_What the heck?_' She swallowed and turned away from him. '_Is he lying...? He must be. What did I do...?_'

Her eyes raised themselves from the floor and met with Miroku's. He was sitting against the wall with four other monks, gaping at her in interest. A very old-looking monk was far away down the hall, frozen on the spot. Kagome guessed he had been the one Miroku had yelled at. She looked around at them slowly and placed a hand on her forehead. "Oh, jeez..." She stared at them.

Miroku was on his feet suddenly. "Would you...Be interested in a cup of tea?" He asked with an air of wisdom. Kagome eyed him strangely and tugged at her jacket sleeve. She glanced carefully over her shoulder and saw Inuyasha giving Miroku a smug look. Her heart leapt to her throat and she swallowed as hard as she could. Pieces of her dream danced around in her head. She stared at the floor for a while, reviewing the dream. The end of the dream slammed into her brain like a hammer and her eyes widened. '_No way...Do I...Like him...?_'

Miroku cleared his throat quietly and Kagome looked up. "Oh, the tea...Yes..." She blinked slowly and nodded. Miroku waved his arm ahead of himself to ask her to follow him. He began walking down the hall. The other old monks bustled around to their feet and followed him closely. Kagome shoved her hands into her skirt pockets and followed them. '_Tsk, that dream was nothing. I'll just...forget about it._' She turned into a doorway with the rest of the little group and glanced around at the plain walls. '_He has nothing to do with me, anyway. I was perfectly happy before he came out of that book to torment me. I was! Release him from the seal? Oh, please..._' She frowned slightly as she walked and clenched her fists in her pockets. The angry voice of the dream Inuyasha flooded into her head. '_Your mother hates you, your father left you to rot, your aunt wanted to turn you in to the cops, and you have. No. Friends!_'

Kagome bit back a shudder and shook her head. '_Why did I make all of those promises to him in that dream?_' She sighed quietly and rubbed her hand over her neck, remembering his anger and his horrifying strength. Maybe it was true that you couldn't tell a lie in your dreams. If that were the case, Kagome knew she would have to release him from his curse. Either that, or face the wrath of possibly another nightmare with him in it.

She snapped away from her thoughts and looked around. She was in a small kitchen. A large stove was to the left of her and a small table was to the right of her. Three small pillows sat on the floor for seats around the short table. Miroku went to the stove in a rush of fluttering robes and began filling a tea pot with water. An old, bent-over monk took her arm gently and led her to the table. Kagome allowed him to guide her and help her to the floor. She knelt on the pillow and bowed slightly in thanks.

The old monk that guided her began waving the other monks out of the room. There was a good deal of "Awww"s and "But why?"s before they were out of the room and the doors were closed. "Thank you, Hakushin." Miroku said. The old monk nodded and walked out of the room. Kagome looked around in nervousness and placed her hands on her lap. Inuyasha leaned into the corner of the wall and glared around the room in distaste. He crossed his arms and watched Miroku turn on the stove to boil the water. "So, what brought you to this forest, my lady?" Miroku asked Kagome as he took a seat across from her. "Keh, _my lady_?" Inuyasha said in a mocking question. Kagome ignored him and bowed her head a little.

"Really." Miroku said, staring at her in a serious sort of kindness. "You can tell me." Kagome stared in surprise. She hadn't expected him to act so friendly. She frowned and curled her fingers together. "I ran away." She mumbled, looking away. "Oh, come _on_!" Inuyasha slapped a hand against his face. "Don't look away when you say something like that! You gotta _own_ it." Kagome's head pounded in embarrassment and she immediately regretting acting so meek when speaking. Her eyebrows raised when she realized she was listening a great deal to what Inuyasha had to say. 'Me_ taking life lessons from _that_ guy?_' Miroku's eyes widened in surprise at her answer. "Is that so?" The tea pot whistled loudly and Miroku stood and went to it quickly.

"Did you have a bad family?" He asked as he took the pot off the stove. Kagome rolled her eyes at the question and sighed loudly. "Yeah, I guess. But it really wasn't as bad as other kids have it." A strange wave of paranoia washed over her. She watched Miroku in suspicion as he poured the boiling water into _three_ teacups. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt her eyes grow into a strange tenseness. "Cut it out..." She heard Inuyasha growl quietly. She glanced back at him and saw his arms wrapped around his head and his eyes closed in a look of frustration. "Oh," She whispered. She blinked at him. "Sorry..." She looked down at her lap. "Do you like sugar in your tea?" Miroku asked by the stove.

"Yes," She answered, looking up. "Please." She quickly added, almost forgetting her manners. Miroku chuckled quietly and stirred her cup of tea. "I like mine plain." He said with a smile over his shoulder. "...And your friend?" He asked absentmindedly, looking down at the cups.

Kagome gaped in shock and let her mouth fall open. '_That...jerk!_' She spat to herself. '_If he thinks I'm crazy with a little _friend_, he shouldn't humor me. At least pretend like I'm sane, for crying out loud!_' She sniffed and crossed her arms loosely. "Well?" Miroku persisted. Kagome's eyes widened in an offended way as she stared at his back. '_Of course he's figured out I believe that someone's with me, but to take it this far...! He...!_' She clenched her fists and ground her teeth.

"I hate tea." Inuyasha said in a simple voice. Kagome whipped her head to his direction. He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms behind his head. "I like to drink blood, though." He smirked. "Didn't I tell you before that I liked to put human blood on everything I eat?" He asked darkly. Kagome grinned at him and laughed. She nodded at the memory. "You're weird." She smiled. Inuyasha's face contorted in a look of fearful shock and his arms fell to his sides.

"I'll just bring your friend's tea plain, how about that?" Miroku asked with a charming smile. He set the cups on the table each in their rightful spot. He knelt on the pillow across from Kagome and folded his arms into his large sleeves. Their eyes met and Kagome held her breath. Something about his gaze was just so knowing. It was like he knew a dirty secret and was excited about it.

"I've figured it out." He said gently. Kagome raised an eyebrow. "...And...What might that be?" She asked in a dodging way. "That book that's with you," He nodded to it. Kagome curled her arms around it as if to hide it and stared at him through her raven bangs. Miroku smiled in an understanding way. "There was something in that book. Something sealed..." Kagome's heart sped up and her eyes widened. "...How did you...?" Miroku cut her off with a shake of his head. "When you've been living in a place like this for your whole life, you learn a lot about the paranormal." He raised a sly eyebrow.

"Then you know...?" Kagome's face molded into a look of curiosity and confusion. "Well," Miroku sighed, taking a sip of his tea. Kagome followed suit and sipped her own tea. Her face scrunched up at the overwhelming sweetness, but she quickly shook it off. "After observing you for a while, I knew something wasn't quite right. How you kept talking to someone in those woods by the fire." He nodded at her. Kagome flushed slightly in embarrassment and glanced away. "Yeah..." She murmured. "Anyway," Miroku took another sip of his tea and glanced around the room, almost looking for something. "I saw your book and felt some kind of power...And by the fire, there was a dark aura that I sensed. Something angry." Inuyasha laughed to himself in arrogance from across the room. Kagome narrowed an eye at his rudeness. "Then when we were finally here, and that medication kicked in, I finally realized it. And it was even _more_ clear after you woke up." He tapped his fingers against the little glass teacup.

Kagome licked tea from her lips and played ideas around in her head. He would help her, or rebuke her. Maybe he even thought she was possessed by a demon. In a manner of speaking, she was. But_ she_ had control of the demon instead of the other way around. She waited for him to speak again. Miroku rotated his cup of tea in circles in his hand and focused on the corner of the room where Inuyasha was standing. "Something was sealed in that book, correct?" He asked, staring hard into her eyes. Kagome shrunk back slightly at his serious stare and nodded slowly. "And it's with you now? Everywhere you go?" Kagome nodded once more. "He has to do whatever I say." She added.

Miroku's eyes lit up in interest and he leaned back slightly. "_Really_?" Kagome sipped her tea to finish it off and set the cup on the table. "Yes," She said firmly. "But it really isn't that bad." She said with a fake smile. Inuyasha's ears twitched and he raised an offended eyebrow. "It's just a little annoying to have someone only I can see and talk to. So I ran away to find a way to release him of his curse." She finished, slapping her hands together. Miroku smiled. "Really, now? What sort of creature is it?" Kagome flashed a grin and placed a hand behind her head. "To tell you the truth, it almost looks like a purple donkey. Kind of stumpy and weird...It can talk and stuff." Inuyasha's jaw dropped and he made a strange noise of shock. "Anyway, I've grown attached to the little thing and thought maybe I could keep it as a sort of pet." Inuyasha stepped forward. "Pet?" He asked in disbelief. "It's absolutely harmless." She smiled warmly at Miroku. "HARMLESS?!" Inuyasha yelled in shock.

Miroku nodded with a large smile, completely convinced. "I'd love to see it if you can get it released." He spoke with enthusiasm. "In fact, I think I know just where you should go to find out how to release it." His face turned dead serious and he stood. "Follow me, and I'll show you." Kagome's heart felt like it was pounding a million times a minute. She twisted her fingers together and stood up to follow him with a fake smile.

As she was walking towards the door, Inuyasha grabbed her arm. Kagome sniffed back a gasp and put an emotional mask on her face. "What the heck are you doing?" He asked in a low hiss. "...Didn't you hear?" She asked quietly. She watched Miroku walk down the hall completely oblivious to her situation. Kagome moved forward out the door and tried not to seem bothered that Inuyasha was holding onto her arm tightly in anger.

"Yeah, I heard you." He growled. "But what's wrong with your head?" He let go of her arm roughly. Kagome ignored his question and picked up her walking pace to catch up with Miroku. "Don't ignore me!" He yelled, catching up to her. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asked loudly. Kagome glanced at him with a face as if to say, "Are you stupid?" Inuyasha got the full message and snorted in insult. "Don't give me that look, I get it. It's not like I believed you actually wanted to find a way to release me." He said in a belittling voice. Kagome gave him the same look with a raised eyebrow and followed Miroku into a doorway. She looked away with a sigh and shook her head.

Inuyasha clenched his teeth and burned a glare into the back of her head. She was ignoring him and dodging his questions. She wasn't giving him straight answers. He hadn't known that she wanted to torment him with little jokes about actually releasing him from the seal. Of course she realized what he would do without her control. He would do whatever he wanted, that was what. Her mind was a strange one. What she was doing then gave him the full understanding that he would never ever have her fully figured out. Ever. Either her medicine was still affecting her, or she was turning into a sick person who liked sick jokes and used them on sick people like himself.

They began walking up stairs. "So what's your game, anyway?" He asked impatiently. "You're just wasting your time here. These stupid people don't have a clue about anything. Aren't your supposed to be running from home, or something?" Kagome sighed loudly and stopped walking up the stairs. She spun around and shook her head. "You know what? You're an idiot." Inuyasha's eyelid twitched and he stared. "Don't say anything until we get to wherever Miroku's taking us, okay?" She spun back around and continued walking up the stairs.

'_What the...!_' He bared his fangs at her back and followed her grudgingly. '_What is she planning? Dumb girl. What does she think she's going to accomplish here?_' Ever since she had started talking to Miroku with that tea, she had become impossible to read. Something was constantly on her mind and she was always thinking. He could see it. It was more than irritating to him to not know what was going through her head. Something had happened to her. But there was nothing he could think of that could have affected her so much that she would start to joke around by saying she would release him instead of seal him.

'_Keh, I get it now...She's gonna find out how to release me _and_ how to seal me at the same time._' He growled quietly and clenched his fists at his sides. '_I need to find some way to have her dead before she knows how to seal me. There has to be some way...!_' Once again, the thought of killing her would vanish the instant it entered his mind. He gave a dark sneer in her direction. '_Even if I can't kill her, I have to at least find some way to change her mind into thinking of releasing me...But...How?_'

"Here we are!" Miroku said with a smile. They stood in front of two large oak doors with brass handles. Miroku pulled one of the handles and struggled to get it open. He pushed his foot up on one of the doors and pulled at the other half with both hands. Dust and dirt flew gently out of the crack in the door. With one last grunt, Miroku managed to get the door open. A cloud of brown dust came flying at them. Kagome put an arm over her eyes and coughed. Inuyasha twitched his ears back and put his sleeve over half of his face. Miroku led them into the dark room. It smelled of earth and water. Inuyasha could smell a tree, too. It was close by.

'_What the heck does a tree have to do with any of this?_' He asked himself impatiently. He crossed his arms and glared at Miroku as he lit a torch. "What is this place?" Kagome asked quietly. "This," He waved his torch and walked further into the room. "Is the highlight of everyone's lives here." He breathed. He put a finger to his lips with a smile to signal them to be quiet. Kagome put her hands to her mouth with a look of surprise and hushed herself. She was so easily swayed by people telling her what and what not to do. It was sickening. So what if she was loud? What would happen if she yelled? The world would explode? He narrowed his eyes at her. She had full control over him and she was so weak. His blood boiled.

Kagome turned around and put a finger to her lips with a strange look of innocence, like she was sharing a secret tip with him out of concern. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he blinked. Kagome turned back around and followed Miroku closely. Something inside of him winced. Suddenly it was like he wanted desperately to be as quiet as he could. His mouth opened slightly at the feeling and he shook to make it go away. It stayed stubbornly. '_First she messes with me by acting like she wants to release me as a joke, and then she acts all weird like she doesn't know anything! What is this girl? Horrible, disgusting human..._'

Miroku raised his torch up high and lit something up. It was a tall, old-looking tree. Its branches stretched out so far, they touched the walls of the large room. The floors were made of dirt and a strange fog floated around the room. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at it. It gave off a strange sense of power. It wasn't an ordinary tree. Kagome and Miroku walked closer to it. Inuyasha stayed back, staring up at the old tree in suspicion. Kagome gasped quietly and pointed. Inuyasha looked to where she was pointing. "It...Looks like it has a face..." She whispered. Miroku nodded. "This is an old, old tree. The temples were built here because of it...This tree goes straight down through the floors into the ground. It's thousands of years old." He said. "Ohhh..." Kagome said in a quiet, impressed way. She stared up at the great tree in wonder.

"Are you ready?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha bit back the urge to punch him because of his strange tone when speaking those words. Kagome hadn't noticed and simply nodded. Inuyasha crossed his arms and glared at the tree's "face". The curse upon him was more irritating than usual. He swallowed back a growl and let his mind play sweet images of ripping Miroku's intestines out.

Miroku cleared his throat quietly and stood up straight in front of the tree, holding the torch out in front of him. "Bokusen-On!" He shouted in a clear voice. "There is someone here who seeks your wise council! I ask thee humbly, awaken!"

There was a strange cracking that sounded like wood was being split or a tree was starting to fall over. After a moment, two small, glowing slits were shining on the tree. It was clear only seconds later that they were eyes. The torchlight shone on them and lit them up. That was the only light in the entire room. All else was black. The "face" became more pronounced and the eyes moved around very slowly. "Who seeks my council?" It asked in a low, gravely tone. Its voice was slow and ponderous and sounded as though wood were cracking in the back of its throat when it spoke. Its eyes moved around carefully and landed on Inuyasha. Their eyes locked and Inuyasha stretched his claws. He sensed the strength in the tree and gave it a wary stare. The tree smiled slowly, its wrinkled lips cracking as they stretched.

Miroku put a hand on Kagome's shoulder and pushed her forward gently. She tripped over her shoes and stumbled in front of the tree. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her stupidity. "Ahhh," The tree drawled, staring at her. "It is _you_..._Interesting_..." He said slowly. Kagome stared up into his glowing eye slits and hugged the book tightly to her chest for some kind of comfort. "What do you seek?" The tree asked in a booming voice. Kagome jumped in surprise and almost fell down. "I-I-I..." She cleared her throat. "I seek...A way to break the curse on..." The tree laughed a strange, cackling laugh that shook the entire room and made leaves fall from its great branches. "You seek his cure? To release him upon the world? You are a strange child..." It cackled. The sounds of crunching wood grated in Inuyasha's ears.

Kagome frowned and gave the tree a determined stare. Inuyasha eyed her carefully and waited for her to speak. "I do!" She yelled. Miroku gasped at her boldness and stepped back with a hand outstretched. Obviously to him, it wasn't a good idea to raise her voice to the old tree. "Will you please tell me?" Her voice was clear and determined. Inuyasha stared at her and noticed that she was trembling. She was trying her best to hide it, it seemed. He narrowed his eyes in thought and waited for her to get to the part about sealing him away. He wouldn't let himself think for a minute that she was actually serious about releasing him. She couldn't have been that good. No one was that good. No human, or demon, or insect, or anything on the planet would be so kind to him without any clear reason. He was a horrible person, and he admitted it proudly. He had killed many and regretted nothing. Her kindness was strange and had spread wide enough to the point of her worrying over him and caring for him when he was wounded. No, it wouldn't go farther than that. She did that out of guilt for him saving her, hadn't she said so herself? It was obligation. Her kindness wouldn't spread any more. She wouldn't release him. He was sure.

The tree laughed even louder than the first time at her boldness. The dirt beneath them trembled and the three of them stumbled backward a few steps. Kagome regained her balance the quickest and went back to staring determinedly into the tree's face. "You amuse me!" The tree said loudly. "Would it not be best to seal the creature back into his book which you cling to so lovingly?" The tree said with a stretched smile. Hearing those words, Inuyasha looked at the book he was once sealed in. Kagome was hugging it as tight as she could. Then it hit him. She wasn't trembling in fear; she was trembling because she was hugging the book so tightly. His eyes tensed in confusion and he clenched his fists. It was strange. But it didn't matter. The tree had opened the door to the question that Kagome sought.

Sealing him away into the book again.

"No!" Kagome yelled in an almost bratty way. "I...Don't...!" She ground her teeth and bowed her head. Her lips moved silently and Inuyasha strained to hear what she was saying. He couldn't hear her at all. His heart beat fast in his chest. "No?" The tree drawled. "Why is it _no_?" It asked the question that played over and over in Inuyasha's head. Kagome looked up at the tree and stepped closer to it. "Because..." Her voice was loud at first, but it trailed off and faded. The tree smiled wide and it cackled quietly. "Interesting..." It mumbled, eying her in amusement. It took a deep, rattling breath. "I will tell you what you seek." It said. Kagome's face lit up and she grinned. "You have gained favor with me, child of humans. Come close..." Kagome was hesitant at first, but walked as close to the tree as she could. She stood on the tips of her shoes and turned her ear to his mouth.

Minutes passed in silence and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in frustration. He couldn't hear a word the stupid tree was saying. The only thing he could do was watch Kagome's expression and see if he could read anything off her. Her straight black hair hung down over the side of her face so he couldn't see her that well. From what he _could_ see, her eyes were slightly narrowed in concentration. But they were strangely blank and her breathing was very even, as if she were sleeping. He raised an eyebrow. The tree had hypnotized her somehow?

After a minute, Kagome backed away from the tree slowly, her eyes confused. But something about her was giving off an air of acceptance and she was suddenly determined-looking. She nodded in a brave way to Bokusen-On and smiled in gratitude. An irritating pulsing of paranoia washed over Inuyasha and his eyes focused all of their power on Kagome. She had secretly discussed how to seal him, didn't she? It was only reasonable. When would she do it? How would she do it? Could she do it?

Would she do it?

The tree yawned a loud, cracking yawn. Its eyes closed slowly until the glowing slits were no longer visible, and the face grew dim. Miroku waved his hand swiftly and Kagome hopped away from the tree to follow him with a smile of satisfaction on her face. Inuyasha curled his lip in a silent snarl and followed them. The annoyance and confusion and paranoia were tearing his insides apart. He couldn't believe how easily he could fall into a state of angry despair over a stupid human girl whom he despised with every fiber of his being. It made him ill and weak and he wanted her to leave forever so he wouldn't have to feel that way ever again. How could she go frolicking about behind a fat-headed monk, acting innocent and happy, when she was planning to ruin him?

When they were out of the room and the large, moldy door of wood was closed, Miroku clapped the dust off his hands and gave Kagome a large grin. "That was amazing!" He yelled. "I thought you were going to have the worst scolding of your life for yelling at him like that." He slapped her on the back. Kagome laughed lightly in a humble way and put a lock of hair behind her ear. "So, what did you see? Did he show you where you need to go?" Miroku asked excitedly. Kagome smiled and nodded. "It was weird, like I was seeing where I had to go, and hearing his voice in my head at the same time." Miroku grinned and nodded. Kagome put a finger to her lip and looked at the ceiling as they walked. "What's even weirder is I can play the directions over in my head without forgetting a single thing." She tilted her head to her shoulder. "_Oh_, is that so? I guess that's Bokusen-On for you." Miroku said with a proud smile.

Inuyasha's fists clenched tighter and tighter until his claws drew blood from his palms. A strange burning was sweeping through him and he took a deep breath. "Hey," He said loudly. Kagome looked over her shoulder as they descended the stairs. "When are you going to do it?" He asked bluntly. Kagome blinked and seemed confused for a moment, but then looked like she understood his question. "We have to travel to this weird place and go through all this stuff. Anyway, the main place we have to be is far away. A big volcano from what I can tell. Isn't that weird? 'Cause there's this movie where these people..." Her voice faded in his mind and was replaced by his rapid thoughts. They have to travel far away to a big volcano. Why would they need to do that? From what he knew of ancient magic back in his time, if you wanted to seal something, you had to have the power to, first of all. Then, with a lot of power and concentration, you could seal anything you wanted so long as it too had power.

Why would they need to travel far away to a big volcano?

"So the guy's missing his finger, but he was free of the ring and everything." Kagome finished with a grin. Miroku chuckled and shook his head. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" She asked. He smiled and shook his head again. "You don't know that movie?" She asked. Inuyasha sneered. She didn't ask _him_ if he'd seen the movie. Not that he really understood what a movie _was_...But that was of course beside the point. She went from being nervous around the stupid monk to all buddy-happy.

"You're pretty quiet, Inuyasha." Kagome said in just above a whisper. He looked up with narrowed eyes, breaking away from his angry train of thought. "What, are you _concerned_ about me or something? What the heck do you care?" He glared at her with a quiet "Keh," Kagome's eyes flashed a look of something that was strangely similar to sadness and he thought for a moment that she would burst into tears. Then her eyes burned with anger and fire and she slammed her arms to her sides stiffly and glared at him. "Maybe I do care! Or maybe I don't! I was just making an observation, _JEEZ_!" She shoved past him roughly and walked far ahead of him and Miroku.

Inuyasha closed his mouth and stared. What would he say after that? Nothing, it was better to be quiet. She would cool off. He wasn't _affected_ by her anger...Miroku walked towards Kagome and caught up to her. He put a hand on her back and spoke to her in a comforting tone. Inuyasha watched them, his golden eyes widening slowly. Kagome looked at Miroku and nodded, wiping tears from her face. He made her cry? He tried to grin in triumph, but he couldn't. He didn't feel happy. She seemed to be explaining something to Miroku with an expression of frustration. Miroku smiled kindly and nodded. He patted her back. Inuyasha watched Miroku's hand slide up and down her thin back, taking in the curves. It trailed over her shoulders and moved some of her black hair from her neck. He listened to Miroku's strange tone of softness as he spoke comforting words to Kagome.

Inuyasha stood perfectly still as he watched them. Something in him felt wounded, like it was bleeding. His eyebrows rose for a second in a confused frown of hurt. The look disappeared and he reopened the wounds in his palms from his shaking, clenched fists. Blood dripped onto the tatami mats beneath his feet. The sound made his ears flinch but he ignored it. The anger he had for Kagome and her sealing him away diminished until he forgot what he had been mad at her for. He felt his legs start moving slowly. His head was empty save the image before him of Miroku feeling the back of Kagome's body with his hand. His hand went down her back further, slowly, until it was at her lower back. Slowly, it moved farther down. Inuyasha felt his pace quicken. Something wasn't right. It wasn't as if Miroku was putting her life in danger. Why would the curse make him feel that way? His mind was in a strange flurry of wheels and turnings. It wasn't the curse. Once he decided on that, he forgot the curse. He forgot how he was sealed away. It was just Miroku touching Kagome's back as he pleased.

Who was Miroku to touch her like that? He didn't deserve to feel her or even look at her. What had he done to earn her respect or favor? He had done nothing. Miroku wasn't allowed to touch her or speak to her. He would kneel on the ground in front of Kagome and not dare to even look up. Such a thought would be absurd and sick to him, but in that moment it was natural. Then something clicked in his head. Kagome had said that she wouldn't be able to marry because of him. Of course, that was true. Because he was bound to her.

Therefore, Kagome was bound to him.

Why hadn't he seen it before? It was so obvious, it was perfect. So perfect, it was obvious. It was such a nice thought. It made absolute sense. No one was allowed to have anything to do with Kagome but him. No one on the planet. Not even her family members. Miroku was touching her?

He would die for that.

Inuyasha felt his legs leave the floor as he bolted for Miroku. His body slammed against Miroku. His shoulder brushed against Kagome slightly as he went to the floor with Miroku and he caught a whiff of her scent. His heart was sent racing and it only made him three times as angry at Miroku for having anything to do with her. They both went sliding quite a distance across the floor. Inuyasha landed on top of him with a painful thud of Miroku hitting the ground.

Inuyasha held him down with all his strength and slammed his right fist into his face. He was just barely aware of Kagome's voice yelling behind him at a distance. His fist came crashing down again and again and again into Miroku's face and his eyes were glowing with hatred and fury. Miroku's face was soon covered in blood and he was trying futilely to free himself of his unseen attacker. Blood splatters dotted Inuyasha's face and fist with each punch and it filled him with a sweet satisfaction.

"INUYASHA, STAND UP!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha's head clicked and his fist stopped just inches from Miroku's bloodied, swollen face. His legs stretched and he stepped away from Miroku. He turned his head towards Kagome and stared at her. Her hand was pressed over most of her face with her fingers stretched apart just enough to show her eyes. Her other arm was holding onto the book. She stared at him in shock and was trembling a little. To both of their surprise, Miroku groaned loudly in pain and sat up. He bent over his lap and pressed his hands over his bleeding face. He spit out a tooth and pressed his head against his knees. Inuyasha flexed his claws and bared a fang at Miroku.

"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed in an urgent voice. He looked at her. "What...happened? Did he hold a knife to my back...?" She searched his face with her eyes. Inuyasha shook his hands and blood splattered on the walls and floor. He wiped his sleeves over his face to clean off Miroku's blood. "I just wanted to beat him up, is that a problem?" He gave her an arrogant look and wiped his bloody hand on his pants. He felt warm inside from getting to plant his fists in the foolish monk's face. '_Let's see him approach her again._' He thought with a cocky smirk.

"Something tells me your buddy isn't a purple donkey." Miroku said with a crack in his voice. He cleared his throat with a quiet chuckle. Kagome shrunk into herself and smoothed a nervous hand over her forehead. "What is that guy?" Miroku asked, spitting blood on the floor. "Thank you for helping me." Kagome whispered, somehow afraid to raise her voice. "Please don't tell anyone I was here." She clenched her fists together and blinked back tears. "Follow me, Inuyasha." She walked past him quickly. Inuyasha followed without argument.

"Wait," Miroku said loudly. Kagome's steps faltered and she stopped. "You said _Inuyasha_." He said quietly. Kagome's fists shook against her chest and she nodded, her back facing him. Miroku stared at her, something twisting in his head. "...But...Inuyasha was..." He smoothed a hand over his face with a sigh of shock, his bruised eyes wide. "Is he really...?" He breathed in question. Kagome nodded. Miroku's hands fell to the floor. "It can't...be true. He disappeared..."

"He was sealed away." Kagome forced the words out of her mouth as fast as she could. "I'm really sorry." She whispered. She walked in a near run in the direction of the exit. "You can't possibly want to release him!" Miroku yelled as she ran. "It's a mistake! A _huge_ mistake!" Kagome shook her head violently as she ran. "Don't let that demon manipulate you! I beg you, PLEASE!" He screamed. Kagome shoved her way through the doors with Inuyasha close behind her. Her feet kicked up dirt and her mind race rapidly. Miroku's voice echoed in her head like a sick music box.

'_A huge mistake, a huge mistake, a huge mistake,_'

She shook it off with tears in her eyes and ran as fast as she could into the woods. She went in the direction they came from and ran as fast as she could. Her legs throbbed from the heavy exercise they did the night before and she held back a groan of exhaustion.

'_I beg you! I beg you!_' His voice echoed. Kagome's eyes were wide and tears spilled down her cheeks. '_What am I doing?_' She asked herself in a hiss of a whisper. '_What on earth am I really doing? Am I really going to listen to a dream and a talking tree?_'

Kagome knew that Miroku hadn't done anything. She hadn't given off any emotion of being frightened of him, either. Miroku had simply been comforting her. That was all. Sure, his hand was rubbing her back a little strangely. And sure, it started traveling a little too far south. But it didn't make sense for Inuyasha to fly off the handle and play punching-bag with Miroku's head.

'_If it was because of the seal, then Miroku would have turned out like...Hojo..._' She shook off the mental image of Hojo up against the fence, his face bleeding like a fountain. She bit her lower lip and hugged her arms around the book. '_If I don't do something about this soon, more and more people are going to get hurt. Physically _and_ emotionally. Mom, aunt Yura, Hojo, those gang members, and now Miroku..._' She shoved branches out of her way and played the map of Bokusen-On over in her head. She needed to go to a volcano.

A volcano that was underground in a cave.

'_I'm well out of Tokyo now...But I need to find out where I am. I'll find the road and follow it out of sight for a while...Find a road sign or something...Or go to the first gas station I see._' She wiped the tears off of her face and felt much better. She turned off any friendly feelings she had towards Miroku to ease the guilt. She narrowed her eyes and tried not to think about Inuyasha. It hurt her head to think about why he beat up on Miroku. It was too confusing and strange. She'd ask him, but not then. She was furious at him for being so clueless to her pains and struggles over him. Miroku said it was a _huge_ mistake. He had _begged_ her and told her not to be _manipulated_.

'_Why am I going through with this? Should I have asked Bokusen-On the way to seal him away again? ...Why didn't I?_'

Her head pulsed at the questions and she shook them away. She'd find out where she was, get a map, and take it from there. She knew where she was going and what she needed and wanted to do. Bokusen-On said that by following the instructions he gave, then releasing Inuyasha was perfectly safe if she made it that far. He had even promised her.

Even though he might go psycho, and even though people were hurt because of him, even though Miroku begged her not to, and even though Inuyasha didn't believe her,

She was definitely going to release him from the curse.

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_**Insane-san says: **Whoo, I feel all awesome. That was a good chapter. Inuyasha's such a squish. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it's for sure a good thing. I hope the dumb authoress to this fanfiction updates soon. I'll fry her butt if she doesn't. I mean, jeez. I wanna read more so bad. Dangit. I guess I'll review now. That sounds good...Then I'll go eat some cheese. Monchego cheese. 'Cause I'm just that awesome._

_Oh dear lo'd. Why am I so crazy? -shrug- It was very sad to see that so many people were disappointed that Mimi-chan was only going to stick around for a couple chapters... (I mean Miroku, yes.) Please be comforted in the knowledge that he will indeed be appearing in later chapters. But they will be later. Hmm. Yesss...Well, I'm off to eat some cheese. Delicious, tasty cheese... (Why do people always think of cheese when they're asked to answer quickly to a random question of what they like? WHAT DO YOU LIKE? CHEESE!)  
_

_Please review. I'll give you some cheese...? And glomp you! n.n ...Hey...Why are you running...? Wait! Dx -chases you-_

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	11. Page Eleven

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**_Insane-san says: _**_For this chapter, I've got some Japanese geography for ya. So for your mental health, you're probably gonna want to type "Japan" in google and look at the images, find a map, and yeah. Check it out. When you get to the part in this fanfiction where you need it, that is. Thanks so much for the reviews and hits, guys. It makes me all fuzzy inside. n.n I actually told my parents, (the subject came up from my brother's SAT scores, we were talking about our strengths and weaknesses), I told them about how I have 5,700 hits for this fanfiction, plus 100 reviews (which I just got, and I'm so happy and proud. -giggle-) and my dad was like, speechless. He was like, mouthing for words. And my mom was gasping and stuff and they thought it was amazing. So I'm happy about that...Yep...Unfortunately, it isn't something you can brag about to relatives like, "HEY! I got 100 reviews and almost 6,000 hits for an Inuyasha fanfiction!" They'd be like, "Oh, what the heck? Lovely...?" I'm sure a lot of you out there feel the same way. Hahaha...  
_

_Been listening to that new My Chemical Romance song, Welcome to the Black Parade. It's pretty awesome... There's this other song that's absolutely friggin' annoying, but I can't stop listening to it because I'm in love with it or something. It's by Filter and it's called Take a Picture. Unless you want to go insane (well, more insane than you probably already are), then don't listen to it! XD You'll become trapped like me! _

_There's nothing like eating Halloween candy and typing fanfiction, I tell ya...Well, unless it's drinking Fake Champagne Apple Cider at Christmas and typing fanfiction...Hmm...Well, both are good. I'm in a good mood. So, good. We're good. And here's the next chapter. It's good. LIKE, LET'S TOTALLY READ IT SNORT. _

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page eleven._

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The light jingling of bells rang out as the glass door to the tiny gas station opened.

A girl with long black hair walked in with a large red book in her arms and a fat wallet in her right fist.

She seemed normal enough as far as her clothes went. But once you got a closer look, you could almost see her racing heart in her grey eyes.

She was pale in her complexion and thinner than the average Japanese teenage girl. As soon as she entered, she went straight for the checkout counter. Her head was bowed slightly as if she wanted to hide her face as she browsed the rack of magazines and map booklets. An older teenage girl watched her from behind the counter with a raised eyebrow. Her hair was long and brown and her eyes were decorated with pink eye shadow. She gave the girl a look and thought, '_Great, Sango. Every time it's your shift, you always seem to attract the nut jobs._' Her hazel eyes wandered down to the book in the girl's arms. It was filled with only a single page. The red cover was bright and glinting in the sun light that came through the windows. Obviously it wasn't normal. Sango didn't want any trouble that day. The remnants of a hangover pulsed distantly in her head, and her boss was giving her more issues than usual. She just didn't have the time.

"Hey," Sango called. The girl flipped around with her eyes as wide as a scared rabbit's. "YES." She said in a loud monotone. Sango's expression softened at her scared look and she lowered her voice, partially to hide her amusement. "Do you need help finding something?" She said gently. The girl's eyebrows knitted upwards and she bit her lower lip lightly. She glared over her shoulder quickly and then flicked her gaze back to Sango. "I just need a map." She said honestly. Sango nodded and reached over the counter to pull up the map she herself used. It was a well put-together map and very easy to understand. "There you go," She said. "Do I ring this up for you, or what?" She asked. The girl nodded quickly, glancing around. Sango frowned in thought for a moment as she checked the price of the map.

'_I wonder what her story is._' She thought to herself. "Are you checking the sights of this fabulously well-known area, or are you just lost?" Sango asked with a bit of sarcasm in her tone. The girl narrowed her eyes for just a short moment, revealing that she had a fiery attitude if you ignited it the wrong way. "I'm looking for something." The girl said quietly. Sango raised her eyebrow in a sassy manner and grinned. "So you don't even know where you are?" She asked. The girl frowned and narrowed her eyes. "I will in a second if I can have that map." She reached a pale hand out. Sango examined her hand and slapped the map down on her palm. "There you go. That'll be 200 yen." The girl's face twisted as if to say, "200 yen for a map?" Sango held back a smile and accepted the money from the girl.

The girl opened the map and leaned against the wall so that she was well out of the way of the counter. She turned it left. Then she turned it right. Then she flipped it upside down. Then she shook the paper out in front of her to straighten it out. "Oh, oh, yeah. I see..." She said in a quiet exclamation as she turned the map rightside-up. "No, _that's _Tokyo." She mumbled just above a whisper. She pointed a finger to the area and tapped it there for a moment. "What?!" She hissed loudly. She stifled herself quickly and whispered, "What do you mean, we passed Mt. Fuji? There's no way!" Sango slouched over the counter and put her hands under her chin. '_Why do people talk to maps when they're lost?_' It was true. Sango had seen it a hundred times before.

"Where the heck is this place, then? ...No, we need to go to Mt. Daisen. It's very, very close to Mt. Daisen. _No_, no, no, it's somewhere between uhh..." She tapped her finger on the map. "Between Matsue and Tottori, I think..." Her voice trailed off in her unsure-ness and she sighed. Sango laughed and shook her head. The girl lowered her map with eyebrows raised in surprise. Sango shook her head and slapped a hand over her forehead. "You poor thing," She said through a laugh. "I feel so sorry for you. Do you want me to help you out?" She said, grinning apologetically. A blush lit the bridge of the girl's nose in her embarrassment and she lowered her head and looked away. "Well, umm..." She licked her lips and walked up to the counter. Sango smiled and took the map. She pressed it down over the counter and traced her finger from Tokyo to Kyoto.

The girl took a deep, long, gasping breath and she slapped her hands on either side of her face. "WHAT?!" She screeched. "THIS IS KYOTO?!" Sango winced at her loud voice and glanced around at the two other scared customers. They quickly left the store. "Take it_ easy_. This is a little town outside Kyoto. It's a really remote place and the population's numbers aren't even over one-hundred..." Sango said with an emotionless voice at the end of her sentence. "You don't like quiet places?" The girl asked with an almost apologetic voice, as if she were the one forcing Sango to stay in that town. Sango smiled and tightened her pony tail. "Nah," She said, shaking her freshly-tightened pony tail around. "Not me. As soon as I get enough money, I'm gonna get myself out of here." She said with a look of kindled excitement in her eyes. "Take myself to some place busy...Or maybe some place unknown! It's just so boring here. I would_ kill_ for a little adventure. Just something to change my life...Ah, I'm making _no_ sense, am I?" Sango asked with a quiet chuckle.

The girl simply smiled.

It wasn't the smile of someone who was trying to hide their irritation at someone's ramblings as people often do. No, it was a real smile. As if she understood every word Sango was saying and was listening contently. She looked like she knew everything Sango was feeling. But the smile had just the slightest sadness to it. Something almost tangible. And Sango felt for just a split second that the girl had perhaps had the same thoughts at some point, and maybe was sorry for them. "You came a long way from home?" Sango asked, shaking the feeling off. The girl sighed and glanced at the floor in thought.

"It wasn't really much of a home when I left." She said plainly. Sango blinked and nodded. "You ran away from your family?" She asked, almost in a daze. The girl folded the big map up and put her wallet in her pocket. "I don't really think...I have a family. I kind of do, I guess. I didn't run from them, though. I ran from...Something else." She titled her head to her shoulder with a distant look in her eyes. Then she shook her head and picked up her red book off the floor. "So," Sango began, almost desperately. She quieted herself and glanced around at the empty store. "You...Just...Left?" She asked. The girl nodded. "On foot...?" The girl nodded again.

Sango stared in wonder and took a deep breath. It was so wonderful to think of it. Just taking what money you had and going wherever you wanted to on foot. Running around as you please. Of course that was the easiest way to travel. People were born natural vehicles. What was the point of paying someone to move you if you could move yourself? Sure, it was faster. But Sango could see it then. She didn't have to wait anymore. That girl was much stronger and braver than she was. She swallowed and curled her hands to fists on the counter. It was as if the odd girl had been sent to her to teach her a lesson of some kind. To tell her that she could do whatever she wanted with her life.

Sango watched as the girl went here and there around the store, picking up bottles of water and bags of snacks and things. She brought them to the counter and watched Sango ring them up. "So, where ya headed?" Sango asked good-naturedly. "Some place far away." The girl answered promptly. Sango raised an eyebrow with a smile and accepted the girl's answer and her payment for her items.

The girl looked at the ceiling and stared at it for a few moments. Her face was almost careless save her thoughtful eyes. Then a long, quiet humming came from the girl. A nice, quiet song. Sango almost jumped at the unexpected sound. The girl turned around and walked towards the exit. She pulled the door open, the tiny brass bells jingled, and she hummed her way out of the store. Then she was gone.

Sango stared out the large window at the girl and followed her with her eyes until she disappeared into the line of trees just right of the dirt road. "Hey, lady," A rough voice called. Sango snapped her head to tue front of the counter. A large man stood there with a six-pack of beer. He shook it on the counter and glared at her. Sango stared down at the beer and then up at the man. Her face stretched in a sly smile. "Sorry, I don't work here anymore." She put her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans and whistled the tune the girl had been singing.

She smiled brightly and walked out of the store and down the street.

"OHMIGOSH, OHMIGOSH,_ OHMI**GOSH**_! RUN!" Someone screamed in the high-pitched voice of a scared teen-age girl. Sango spun around, raising her fists up in a fighting pose. She waited, staring around warily. Then out of the blue, not twenty feet in front of her, the strange girl ran out of the line of trees running down the dirt road like the devil was on her heels. Shortly after she ran out, something similar to the devil followed. An _enormous_ bear lunged out of the woods and ran after her, letting its ferocious bear cries sound out. Sango's body went cold at the sight and her fighting instincts kicked in. She bolted after them, pulling her collapsible knife out of her pocket as she ran. She flipped it open to its full length and picked up her speed as she ran after them. She prayed that the girl wouldn't slow down or trip before she caught up to them. Then again, it might not matter. Unless you were an Olympic sprinter, there was no way you could outrun a bear. Especially one of that size. Surprisingly, the girl was fast. Faster than average. It made things easier for Sango and she just hoped that the girl could keep up the pace.

"THIS IS SO MESSED UP!" The girl wailed. "DO YOU HATE ME, GOD?" She shouted at the sky. "WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_, I'M FORCING YOU TO RUN?! ...OH, YOU'RE RIGHT!" She yelled. Sango didn't understand why the girl was shouting as she ran. It used up too much breath and caused you to slow down. More importantly, who was right? Sango sucked in a breath as she prepared for a sprint towards the bear. The girl tripped, and as she was flying forwards onto her stomach she screamed, "KILL IT!"

Sango made a jump for the bear, holding her knife out beside her. As her feet landed behind the gigantic brown bear, it was sent flying up into the sky. It made a loud groaning sound of what sounded like surprise. Sango's face turned white and she stared up at the flying bear with shrunken pupils. As it was just starting to descend from the air, something smashed it down hard and streams of blood showered down. It slammed into the dirt with a _crack_. The bear made a sick growl and twitched its paws. Sango noticed deep slash marks on its stomach from where it was slammed down to the ground. Blood spilled out of the wounds and was soaked up by the thick brown fur. Then its head rose up. Something about it wasn't natural. It wasn't lifting its head on its own. Then its head gave a sharp turn in a very strange jerk of motion, and its neck broke loudly. The sound echoed through the trees.

The entire time, the girl was on her stomach, crunched up and shielding her head with her arms. Then her hands moved off of her head and she sat up, looking backwards. Her face lit up with relief and gratitude and she slammed a hand over her heart. "Oh my GOSH." She wheezed. "That was the scariest moment of my entire life..." She said in a grave tone. She stood up and dusted her clothes off. She gathered her snacks and bottles of water and put them back in her plastic bag. Sango's mouth hung open in shock and horror as she watched the girl act as if it was so natural. "Hey..." She said quietly. The girl raised her head and snapped it in Sango's direction. Her eyes were wide and observing. She waited in silence for Sango to speak. "That bear...Just..."

"You were there the whole...time...?" The girl asked, a strange realization dawning on her. Sango nodded and folded up her knife slowly. She stood up straight and put a fist to her mouth as she cleared her throat. "THAT WAS SO CRAZY." Someone shouted not too far away. Sango and the girl stared in the direction of the gas station. A large man with a six-pack of beer stood in the doorway of the little store, gaping. "A-ARE YOU SUPER WOMAN?" He shouted in a kind of awe. The girl's face twitched and she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. The man flipped a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, all the while staring at the girl in awe.

The girl didn't seem to like that much. Her face paled and she closed her mouth. She turned around stiffly and began to run away. Sango's eyes widened and she followed her almost on reflex. "HE-HEY, WAIT A SEC...!" The man yelled, his voice fading in the distance. As they got farther and farther away, Sango realized that she would probably never go back to the little town. She carried all of her money with her at all times, and her only memory of her family was folded up in the form of a knife in her pocket. She was set. She was moving. And she was following a strange girl who had brought it all about. "What's your name?" Sango asked, trying to keep her voice above the sound of their loud, running footsteps. The girl tripped with a gasp and spun around.

"Oh, take it easy! I'm not going to hurt you or anything." Sango said seriously, holding her hands up. The girl looked her up and down and braced her arms at her sides. "Okay, so...?" She waited for Sango to speak. Sango wet her lips and cleared her throat. "Could I...Maybe...Follow you for a while?" She asked lightly. The girl's expression changed. She seemed sympathetic for a moment. "Well," Sango continued. "It's like this...I finally got up the courage to leave this dumb town. But I've...Never done this kind of thing before. And since you just happened to show up, someone who _has _done this before, I figured that maybe...Just for a little while..."

"You could suck up some run-away knowledge or something?" The girl finished in question. Sango flushed slightly and nodded, swallowing her pride. "Kind of, I guess...If you wanna put it that way." The girl waited a moment, staring at her left. She frowned and sighed with her eyes closed. "I don't know. Doesn't sound like a safe idea to me. Last time I let someone get close, he got beat up pretty bad." She said. Sango's heart beat fast in her chest and she thought back to the bear. People that hung around the girl ended up like that, too...? It was a scary thought and she had a mental image of herself ending up like the bear.

"What's your name?" The girl asked. Sango smiled. "I'm Sango." She said. The girl frowned in a hopeless manner and put her hand in her pocket. "Two's company, three's a crowd, Sango." She said. Sango stared in amazement. "Two...?" She whispered. "Sorry," The girl said, staring. "But I don't want...To make the same mistake twice." She smiled apologetically. Sango frowned and her strong demeanor faded. "So I can't follow you? Even for just a mile?" She asked, desperation hinting in her voice. The girl sighed and shook her head. There was a pause and no one spoke. The sound of the wind rushed through the trees and swirled around them.

"You ever see that movie, Spider Man?" The girl asked Sango. Sango lifted her head and blinked. "...Part of it...Once." She nodded. The girl smiled. "There's this part where Peter Parker's uncle tells him, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'" Sango's chest felt hard at the words and she nodded slowly at the wise saying. "Even though I'm really only like, half the power in this case...I really feel like that. You're better off on your own for now, Sango."

She backed up a few steps, waving, and then turned around to run again. "Don't tell anyone you saw me, right?" She yelled as she ran. Sango stared after her. "Yeah!" She yelled back, smiling. She didn't care what the girl was trying to hide from or who she was running from. Or even where she was running to. She felt that she owed that strange girl a favor. "Two's company, huh...?" She said quietly to herself. She waved and watched the girl disappear over the town's trademark hill.

* * *

Kagome ripped open a bag of chips and shoved a fistful in her mouth.

They crunched loudly, crumbs flying around and dotting her face and lips.

She twisted the cap off of a water bottle and guzzled the water down. It dribbled down her neck and chin and she sighed happily.

Inuyasha watched with a sick expression. She was shoveling garbage into her mouth without any second thoughts. From the smell of it, it was salty and loaded with oil. Inuyasha sniffed the scent out of his nose and crossed his arms into his sleeves. They were in the woods somewhere. He didn't know. He didn't even care. Unveiling his complete honesty to himself, he didn't want to go where Kagome did. Because she was just going to seal him when they got there. Kagome was eating with such happiness and drinking her water like it was the liquid of Gods. She didn't have any worries from the looks of her. She was so content in eating her precious..._Food substance_. He wondered for a long time while he watched her eat if she really had any true problems. If she did, there was no way she could be so empty-headed and happy.

"You wunt frome uff dush?" Kagome asked with her mouth full of puffy orange things. She leaned towards him and shook the bag in his face. Inuyasha curled his lip in disgust and backed away from her. She shrugged with an orange smile and continued eating. He would never admit it, but he was hungry, too. He was very relieved that she hadn't pried into his hunger. A nice hunk of bear meat sounded excellent. But of course, he had been too absorbed in Kagome's safety to worry about himself. Every time the curse upon him acted up it felt like rocks were being thrown at his head and constantly increasing in size and power.

Kagome sighed loudly and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She crunched up the empty snack bags and put them in the fire. Then she gathered the rest of the snacks and water bottles she hadn't emptied and put them back in her plastic bag. She put the red book in there, too. Inuyasha gave the book a dark glare and then shifted it to Kagome instead. She grabbed the folded-up map and opened it. She huddled close to the fire for warmth and opened the map up. Her eyes scanned the paper and a worried smile crept onto her face. "I thought we had such a long way to go, but we're so close already. It's really weird..." Inuyasha sneered at her and crossed his arms as close to himself as possible. He was in a state of extreme discomfort and there was nothing he could do to make it cease. "Where were you born?" She asked suddenly. He stared at her, a bit taken aback for a moment before he replied, "Shut your mouth." Her mouth opened in that shocked-at-an-insult way that it did when he said something rude to her.

"Well," She began, shaking off his rudeness. "I was born in Tokyo." She smiled fondly and stroked her finger across her region on the map. "So now we're in Kyoto," She traced her finger along the map. "I never thought I'd ever go to Kyoto. For some reason I always pictured myself in Tokyo. And here I am...I never thought I'd get to make camp in any Kyoto cliffs, either." She grinned and stared around at the sparse trees and the mountain ranges and cliffs around them. She sighed with a smile. She traced her finger along the map again. "So we're here..." She tapped her finger. "And we have about--"

"Shut up already!" Inuyasha shouted. Kagome snapped her head up. "I don't wanna know how close or how far we are, okay?! Just shut up!" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome blinked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but...I just thought you'd be kind of like...I dunno...Excited?"

"EXCITED?!" Inuyasha yelled, giving her a furious stare. "Are you _sick_?!" He stood up, trying to bite back his anger. "How far can you take this joke? It's making me nauseated!" He threw a rock into the fire and it cracked open a burning log. He seethed and shot daggers into her face. "I'm accepting that I can't kill you! I'm accepting that you're not gonna die any time soon! And I'm even accepting that I'm not gonna be released, okay? So for cryin' out loud, just get it over with!" His loud voice reverberated loudly through the cliffs. Kagome stood up and stared seriously at his face. The light of the fire reflected off their faces and they stared at each other. Kagome frowned and folded her arms. "You're a really strange guy, you know that?" She said. His face fell and he clenched his fists tightly. "How can you be so annoying at a time like this?" He asked in a quiet growl of question. She sighed and shook her head. "I don't even fully understand why I'm doing this, but I am. I don't understand why you're in denial, either." Her breath came out in white clouds.

"DENIAL OVER WHAT, YOU WITCH?!" He screamed. The echo if his voice vibrated under their feet. "In denial over getting myself sealed up in that book again?" He shot a claw out towards the book which sat safely in Kagome's plastic grocery bag. "Oh, HAPPY JOY! I just can't _wait_ to get back in _there_!" He clasped his hand together as he feigned happiness. Kagome stared at him with a look of something like hopeless disgust. "Inuyasha, you're embarrassing yourself..." She said quietly. He clenched his teeth and put his shoulders back. "Keh, embarrassing myself, am I?" He said with a cynical sneer. "No, I'm not embarrassing myself. _You're_ embarrassing yourself for taking this dumb joke too far!" He yelled, pointing an accusing claw at her from across the fire. "Are you serious?" Kagome asked loudly, narrowing her eyes. "Do I look serious to you?" He shouted. "HUH?" He stepped forward. "This is pathetic!" She shouted to the sky, releasing her frustration. He glared at her. "Yeah, it's pathetic! _You're_ pathetic for--!" His throat tightened in surprise and he choked, watching her.

Kagome picked up the plastic bag and took the book out. Inuyasha's heart leapt to his throat and his arms fell to his sides. His face fell and his ears went back. '_So this is it...?_' He thought. She was finally going to do it. She'd finally had enough of his yelling and decided to get it over with. "Keh..." He said quietly, staring at the book. "Get started, then." He said lowly. He tried to hide his look of defeat. There was really nothing he could do. He was powerless for what felt like the first time in his life. He was sick inside. He didn't want to go back into the book. In fact, he wouldn't have minded staying with Kagome. He really thought right then that he wouldn't have minded so much if he was under her power until she died.

Kagome walked forward, her eyes burning with seriousness at his defeated expression. She hooked her arm around his roughly and began to lead him somewhere. His heart pounded and he tried to brace himself for what was to come. She hooked her arm around his as though he were a close friend. He tried to shake off his confusion. She must have had the power to seal him if she was acting so determined and prepared. Their feet stopped at the edge of the cliff. Inuyasha stared down into the dark, shadowy rocks and swallowed. "Inuyasha," Kagome said in a clear voice. He glanced at her, somehow wanting her to be the last thing he saw before he was sealed away again. Her pink lips stretched into a smile as she stared down the cliff. His heart sped up and he blinked. How could she smile so kindly at his downfall? The entire time, she hadn't cared about any small fiber of him at all? Not even one, small little trait he held?

Kagome raised her arm high into the air, the book in her hand. Inuyasha stared at it and his pupils thinned. His heart slammed in his chest. '_It...Isn't...Possible..._' He cut his thoughts off to watch her. She glanced at him with a serious face and held her stare for a moment. Then with a great swing of strength, she threw the book down the cliffs. Inuyasha watched with a white face as the fluttering red book was swallowed up by darkness. The sound of it crashing against the cliff and the rocks rang in his ears and he stumbled backwards away from her. His legs gave out from under him and he dropped to his knees. He swallowed dryly and let his ears flop to the side. His jaw hung open in shock and his heart pounded in his ears.

She wasn't going to seal him?

"There, are you happy now?" She asked. Happy? Was he happy? What a strange question. He didn't know what he was feeling at that moment. It was so strange and pulsing. He was confused and stunned. Stunned was a good word. He was stunned. He didn't understand what she just did. Maybe he was asleep somewhere and he was dreaming. A strange, unlikely dream that his mind made up to ease his anxiousness at her sealing him away. He swallowed and hoped and _hoped_ that he would wake up so he would stop feeling so abnormal. His stomach churned and tightened and his heart kept speeding up and slowing down. There was a strange sway in his head and he thought for a moment that he was going to throw up. Kagome had just thrown the book down the cliff. Maybe it all made sense. Maybe she was going to release him.

Why would she do that?

"It's gone, so stop yelling and_ please_ stop asking me when I'm going to seal you. The only reason I held onto that book was because I thought I might need it for something. Then when Bokusen-On told me where I needed to go, I thought I'd just hold onto it as a weird little memento or something. But since you bring it up every five minutes, there! It's gone. So stop making those _weird_ faces and...go...back to being a jerk!" She blurted out. She put a hand up to hide her face and spun around. She ran back to the fire and curled herself up in front of a tree, her back facing him.

Inuyasha tried to calm his quiet gasping because he kept holding his breath. He moved forward onto his hands and knees and inched towards the edge of the cliff. He flattened himself onto the wet grass and tucked his limbs under himself. He stared down into the black cliffs and tried to find the book with his eyes. It was no use. It was gone. Far, far down the steep cliffs. It was gone for good unless someone happened to find it by chance. There was no way Kagome could go and get it some other time. She had thrown it down the cliffs.

It was gone.

His clawed hand moved up over his face and he stared down the cliff between his fingers, his eyes wide and flickering. Kagome was a human. Humans were an annoyance. No good ever came of them. They were selfish, brutal, stupid, and they stabbed each other in the back without fault. They didn't do kind things for demons. They didn't like demons. Especially him. The only kind thing he remembered doing was obeying his mother until she died. Other than that, he was a bad person. Kagome was a human. Humans weren't nice to him. They didn't want to help them. He hated humans and they hated him. They were easy to kill and manipulate. They sometimes believed in stupid things like honor and justice. Kagome obviously believed in those things. He could see it every now and again. She did have a sense of justice and caring for other humans.

That's why she ran from home, ran from Miroku, and wouldn't let Sango have anything to do with her. Because she was considerate of her own kind. But justice was about setting the good apart from the evil. From what he understood of justice, that was it. And she cared about her own kind. She couldn't care about demons. That just wasn't natural. Humans and demons were naturally enemies. And if Kagome was so educated in things like justice, then why would she aid him? She'd free him? But Kagome was a human. Humans weren't good. He didn't like them nor did he ever need them. And if she was kind to other humans, she couldn't be kind to him. It wasn't right. But as he thought back to the time he'd spent with her, she had actually treated him as an _equal_. She treated him how she would treat another human. It was a shocking revelation and he rubbed his hand over his face.

His mind reeled and he felt dizzy. He pushed himself up on shaky arms and turned his head over his shoulder to look at Kagome. She was up against a tree with her back facing him. She was quiet and he guessed she was trying to sleep. It was late and they had been running for a very long time. His confusion masked all of his instincts and strengths. It swirled inside of him as he walked towards her. He clenched his fists tightly and sat down quietly a few feet away from her. It was as close as he dared himself to be. He swallowed and the image of the book flying down the cliffs played over and over in his mind. His eyes danced over her in thought and he took a breath. "Kagome," He called, trying to keep his voice down. A bizarre question showed up in his head and he asked it. "Are you a human?" His eyebrows furrowed and he loosened and tightened his fists. "Yes, I'm human." Kagome whined in a quiet, sleepy voice. "What do you think? Go to sleep, Inuyasha." Her voice trailed off and she sighed quietly and drifted to sleep.

Despite his silent struggle to remain up-right, his body lowered itself until he was lying down. He was a few feet away from her and she was curled up in a tight circle. Her head was closer to his than he would have liked. But somehow it was fine. He sunk his claws into the earth beneath him and his mind shut down slowly in a forced sleep. He stared at her sleeping face and frowned in a hopeless confusion. Could it be possible, that maybe, putting aside everything that was natural and unnatural in the world...Could it have been possible that Kagome thought of him as something like...

A friend?

His eyes began to close even though he tried desperately to keep them open so that he could stare at her face and think. His eyelids shut and a wave of peaceful tiredness washed through him. He put his ears back and fell asleep with Kagome's scent flowing around him.

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **Hallo, my fluffies! Yes, the chapter's over. I know it was shorter than usual...PLEASE DON'T CRY. -wheeze-  
But my, my, it certainly is picking up well. I'm very pleased with how easily this is flowing for me. Things should be really easy from here on out. -jumps around- OH MY GOSH, you guys. This is going to be so much fun. Oodles and oodles of fun. ...You know what, what the heck is an oodle, anyway? ...Hmmm...One of the many mysteries of this world... There was another word I was thinking about the other day too, but I can't remember it. Oh well! n.n_

_Sango made her ginormous (excuse the word, I just think it's so funny) appearence in this chapter. YAY for Sango! Or not. She will be appearing later in this fic as well. It should be...gigglicious. -evil grin- Please review, as always. Thanks for sticking with me and reading, guys! YOU'RE LIKE MY CHILDREN, OR SOMETHING! -twitch-_

_Okay, seriously. XD -bursts out laughing- Hope you guys enjoyed. Thankies thankies. If you have any questions, please ask away. I'll reply to your review. (I've been doing that lately, so if you haven't checked your e-mail, check it.) See you guys in the next chapter. Bye-bye! n.n_

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	12. Page Twelve

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_**Insane-san: **Okayyyy, hey guyssss. n.n This chapter came later than I wanted to, but what can ya do. I'm going to be away for the week of Thanksgiving. Yes, a week. That's usually how long it takes me to finish a chapter given the time I'm allowed and how much I can get my spazzy brain to focus. XD I'm going to have my laptop there, so hopefully I can squeeze in some typing time. o.o_

_I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving. n.n If you don't celebrate it, then...uhh...Have a good day...? n.n;; _

_I've been drinking these err...-checks label- Mint Mocha star bucks frappuccinos. Limited edition. ;3 I'm a huge fan of mint chocolate. Some people think it tastes like toothpaste. If you like mint chocolate and coffee, then you. Need. To. Drink. One.  
...I just remembered that they have caffeine...Caffeine is in love with me. He likes to dance with me and make me crazy. o.o Er, craziER__. Fortunately it comes in a rather small quantity. I'm not allowed to drink caffeine, you see. For...Reasons. -shifty stare- Mostly because I scared the living crap out of my grandmother when I was at her house, drinking caffeinated tea. _

_...That's a rather long story... _

_Maybe If you ask me to in a review, I'll reply to your review and tell it. I dunno. If you want. -cough-  
_

_Okay, that's enough. I hope you like this chapter...My contact lenses itch. o.o _

_Have a happy, fun-filled reading day. :'D -gets hit by a bus-_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page twelve._

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Kagome's eyelids fluttered gently until her eyes were open.

She squinted at the line of bright orange and pink along the horizon as the sun rose to wake the world.

She took a deep, stretching breath and sat up. The ice on the grass was melted. It was a much warmer day than the previous one. Kagome smiled and combed her hair out with her fingers. Her hair was easy to manage, so it wasn't that hard. There was nothing left of the fire other than a large black spot of what used to be burning wood. Inuyasha was curled up close to where she sat. He was sleeping soundly with a surprisingly peaceful expression on his face. A smile tugged at Kagome's lips. Her hand moved to stroke the top of his head. But her fingers twitched to a stop and she retracted her hand slowly. She dropped her hand to her lap with a sigh and stood.

The events of the night before came into her head slowly and she remembered throwing the book down the cliffs. She had been meaning to get rid of it and had finally done it. It was almost like a weight was lifted off of her back and she felt much lighter. The book had just been one more thing to carry on the journey, anyway. '_It's a little weird. The thing that started all of this is gone..._' The flickering memory of Inuyasha's voice came into her head. _Are you a human?_ Her eyebrows raised and she put a hand to her chin in thought.

'_What a strange question. I wonder why he asked it...Hmm, probably to get on my nerves and keep me from sleeping..._' Then she remembered how he had reacted when he saw the book plummeting to its imminent doom down the mountain side. Face white as a sheet, mouth hanging open, slitted pupils so thin they were barely visible...She doubted she'd ever see him so shocked ever again. It was scary to throw the book down the cliff because she didn't know how he would act. She thought that perhaps once he truly found out that she wasn't going to seal him, he would strut around in arrogance and be triple the rude guy. But he did the opposite. It was like he was stunned with something and submitted to it completely. She sighed quietly and shook her head. She adjusted her belt and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She picked up a bottle of water and rinsed her mouth out with it.

Inuyasha was really an odd guy. She hadn't really met someone you could call a "jerk" before. He was loud and rude to her and called her names...And of course he had no respect for humanity. Kagome frowned at her blind stupidity in putting those things aside and actually considering him, of all people, her friend. Her legs dragged her to the edge of the cliffs and she peered down. It was very, very far down, but she could just see the slightest red tip of a corner of the book. The rest was crushed and hidden under rocks that had fallen with it the night before.

'_Well, I guess that's that._' She thought with a wry smile. She turned around slowly and stared at Inuyasha's sleeping form. His body rose and fell slowly with each even breath that entered his lungs. His ears twitched and turned in his sleep. A strange flood of questions came into Kagome's head as she watched him. There was so much about him that she didn't know. Who were his parents, and where did he come from? What was his past really like? '_Maybe in about...ten years, he'll give me one little detail on his past._' She thought, a strange smile of amusement covering her face. Then she raised an eyebrow. '_Well, I could always order him to tell me...But that wouldn't really..._' She moved a strand of hair from her face. '_Maybe if I was more open with him...?_'

Her eyes wandered to the slow-moving clouds in the sky and she watched them with envy. Suddenly eager to get a move-on, she made her way towards Inuyasha. She knelt in front of him. "Inuyasha," She called in a quiet, motherly way. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Inuyasha," She called a little louder. Normally something like that would wake a person up. But it looked as though it made Inuyasha fall into an even more peaceful sleep.

A thoughtful expression came onto her face and she shook his shoulder harder, but gently. Inuyasha's eyelids twitched and opened lazily. He blinked at the grass. He looked very calm and at-ease for a short while and Kagome smiled at the unusuality of it. Inuyasha's gaze hardened at something that was apparently not right. His eyes moved away from the grass and landed on her knees. His eyes snapped open wide and jerked up to Kagome's face. They moved quickly over her arm that extended a gentle hand on his shoulder. His face twisted and he moved himself backwards, making a strange gasping sound. His back slammed into the tree behind him and he had an arm in front of himself as if for defense.

Kagome laughed loudly and pointed at him. Inuyasha sneered at her and tried to calm his startled breathing. "Sh-SHUT UP!" He tried to yell. He stood up and slapped dirt off his clothes. Kagome only broke out in a fresh wave of laughter. She threw her head back as she laughed. Inuyasha bared his fangs and glared away to hide his more-than-obvious embarrassment. "I'm sorry," She said, her laughter quieting. She grabbed her ribs and sighed loudly with a grin. "I tried to wake you as quietly as I could, but you..." She made a snorting sound and slapped a hand over her face to hide her grin. Inuyasha clenched his fists. "So? What's so funny?" He snapped. Kagome looked into his eyes and laughed with her eyes nearly closed.

Inuyasha jerked his head away so his hair would hide his face. His eyes were wide and he stared at the grass. He wasn't used to having people laugh at something he did. And what was more, he wasn't used to having people stare straight into his eyes while they did it, either. An odd memory tugged at his mind and he tried to remember what it was. Sleep hadn't left him completely and he was just starting to warm up. "I thought we could get an early start." She said. She picked up her grocery bags and stretched her arms until they gave off a light crack.

"Well, I'm good. You ready to start walking?" She asked, looking at him. Inuyasha's eyes fell to the bags on her arms and he noticed that the red book wasn't in them. Then his eyes bulged and he remembered what had happened the night before. His throat tightened and he swallowed down his answer to her question, afraid of how it would sound if it were to come out. She shrugged and fixed the bags on her arms. "Okay!" She yelled seriously as she turned around. They began their bumpy descent down the strange, curving mountain they had camped on. She certainly was peppy even though she wasn't a morning person.

'_Wait, what? How would I know if she's a morning person?!_' He asked himself in an angry snarl. He thought back to all of the times he'd seen her wake up. No, she wasn't a morning person, it was clear. He narrowed an eye as he followed her blindly. '_But if I know she's not a morning person, that means I was taking note of her character._' The thought struck him as strange and sick and he clenched his teeth. She threw the book off the cliffs and was actually going to release him. She was the most absurd human he had ever met, that was for sure. In the split second that he thought that, his mind separated Kagome from every other human being on the planet. She was in her own category. Neither human nor demon.

His feet stopped moving and his eyes widened. His ears rose up to their full height slowly and he held his breath. If he had ruled her out so simply as being neither human nor demon, then she was in a different category. And he himself was neither. There was nothing he could do about it because it was in his blood. He was born that way. His father was a demon, and his mother was a human. But Kagome was human. She was full human. But he had just moved her away from that to be in a different section of life. Slowly it dawned on him that perhaps that meant she was in his category. But no, it was too weird. How could he so simply take a human and allow them to be in his own category of whom no other being existed but him?

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" A concerned voice asked. His breath came back to him and he jerked his head up. Kagome looked at him with her brows creased in worry. He examined her face for a moment before answering her. "Yeah," He said. The wheels in his head snapped into gear and he immediately forced out something rude to say to follow his casual reply. "Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm not weak like you." He spat. Kagome made a sound of surprise at his sudden rudeness. "Hey, I'm not _that_ weak!" She said, glaring in an offended way. There was a strange humor in her words. Maybe it was because she sounded sarcastic. Or maybe she didn't sound sarcastic and it was amusing because she was admitting to some small amount of weakness. An almost scary feeling of something _funny_ came into him and he twitched his lips to keep himself from smirking. Luckily for him, Kagome turned away before he gave too much away.

Inuyasha's head spun in circles the entire time they descended the mountainside. He tried to place each emotion into its proper place while giving each emotion a name and a reason for showing itself. It was a difficult and confusing process and neither of them spoke for the rest of the descent. He tried not to think about why he was traveling, because that brought up images of the book flying down the cliff, and Kagome telling him straight out that she wasn't going to seal him.

A while after they had already reached the bottom and were walking on a roadside, the sound of a gurgling growl broke out through the silence. Inuyasha stopped and raised his ears in suprise. Kagome winced to a stop. The sound of her heart jumping in embarrassment reached his ears and he raised an eyebrow. She placed her hands on her stomach and laughed nervously as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "S-Sorry...Just a little hungry..." She waved a hand with a twitching smile as if to tell him it wasn't worth prying into. "Then eat something, idiot." He said, narrowing his eyes at her dumbness. Her face fell into surprise and she blinked. "Oh, well...I just thought I'd ration the food I have until I...get a chance...to...buy more." Her voice was clear at the start, but then it faded and turned into a mumble. It seemed that as she was speaking, she was losing confidence in her own words. "I guess we can look for a diner or something...This doesn't look like a very populated area, so..." She spun around slowly and picked up her walking pace on the side of the road.

Inuyasha followed her and sniffed the air deeply for the scent of humans. The only scent that entered his nose was the scent of Kagome. He had sniffed so harshly that it flew into him. It flowed into his nostrils and swirled around his head almost like a thick, intoxicating fog and he felt strangely heavy. He shook his head and tried to snort her scent out. He rubbed his sleeves over his nose and burned a glare at the ground. It made him think of her giving him ice cream, and it made him think of her cleaning the blood off of his body for hours and then bandaging his wounds, and it made him think of her with Miroku, and then it made him think of her hooking their arms together and throwing the book down the cliff. He smoothed his long sleeve over one half of his face with an angry frown and grabbed a handful of his hair. Kagome was saying something about road signs, but his mind wasn't registering the words. He just listened to her voice and tried to settle the fluttering feeling of confusion that pulsed in his chest.

"This grill place is only half a mile away." Kagome explained with a small smile. "So if we just keep our pace quick--" She stared over her shoulder. A wrinkle of thought formed on her forehead as she stared at him. He was frowning angrily at the ground and his right hand was clenching some of his bangs. One of his fangs showed as his face twisted to an even angrier one and his hand gripped his hair tighter. Kagome blinked and turned away. '_I wonder what's wrong with _him.' She thought, wetting her lips. Not wanting to disturb Inuyasha's tense thinking, Kagome remained silent for the next half mile, occasionally mumbling to herself the directions she needed to take to get to the underground volcano.

When they arrived at the small in-the-middle-of-no-where diner, Kagome heard Inuyasha curse under his breath and mumbled something to himself. She fixed the bags on her arms and looked over her shoulder. Inuyasha was staring straight at her. His eyes widened for a split second and then he glared away. Kagome stared. She shrugged it off and chewed her lower lip. The dirt parking lot had three parked cars in it, all of which were old and rather dusted with the light dirt that covered the ground. Kagome walked up to the glass door of the diner and turned around. Inuyasha stumbled to a stop at her unexpected change in direction. He bared his fangs in annoyance. "Wait here." She said, putting a finger up. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and turned away from her in a bratty manner. Kagome smiled and put the grocery bags down by the door. Then she walked into the diner.

The pleasant smell of bacon and toasted bagels filled the diner. A busty old woman with an eye patch was cleaning a glass behind the counter and was speaking to a very pretty young girl. Two old men sat in a booth across from each other and were busy playing a silent game of cards. They all paused what they were doing to look at Kagome as she entered the new territory nervously. "Welcome, young miss." The old woman called to her in a withered voice. Kagome nodded and glanced around as she walked further into the store. She took a seat on a torn red stool a few seats away from the pretty young girl. The girl grinned at her cutely and waved. Kagome blinked and waved back slowly.

The old woman set the glass she was cleaning down on the counter. "What'll ya have, miss?" She asked with a good-natured smile. Kagome felt more at ease at the old woman's kind demeanor and she relaxed her shoulders. "I'll have a glass of water, and umm...A bagel with butter?" The woman nodded and began filling Kagome's glass with a pitcher of ice water. "Oh! And," The woman stopped filling Kagome's glass and stared at her through her one eye. "Could I also get a, uhh...Plate of bacon and toast to go, or something?" She asked, her confidence fading fast. The woman nodded with a smile and went through a wooden door marked "kitchen".

"Hi." Kagome heard. She winced mentally and looked to her right. The pretty girl grinned at her. "Uhh...Hi," Kagome replied. The girl hopped off of her stool and sat in the one directly next to Kagome. "Do you live around here?" The girl asked with a smile. Kagome shook her head quickly. "HAH! I knew it." She said, clapping her hands. "So how old are you?" She asked. Kagome swallowed and debated whether it was a good idea to answer the question. "Sixteen." She said quietly. The girl's face brightened. "Awesome!" She drawled excitedly. "I'm fourteen, but I'll be fifteen in three-hundred days." She said with childish wink. "So we're practically the same age!" Kagome felt a grin tug at her face. It was just too hard to remain cool around such a giddy young girl. "Are you just passing through?" The girl asked. Kagome nodded. "Yeah, I just stopped by to get something to eat." She said. "Well, you stopped at the right place." The girl said with a knowing smile. "Hah, apparently." Kagome answered with a smile. "I'm Rin." The girl put out her hand. Kagome took it hesitantly. "I'm...Just passing through." She said, trying to sound like she was joking. The girl giggled loudly and put her hands on her mouth as she laughed. Kagome stared unblinking. Well, at least she had managed to pull it off as a joke.

The old woman came out through the doors with a plate and a white foam box. She placed them in front of Kagome. Kagome stared at the large buttered bagel with wide eyes and immediately began eating. "Wow, you were hungry, huh?" Rin stared in a kind of awe. Kagome flushed lightly in embarrassment and swallowed some bagel down. She nodded and took a sip of her water. "Have you been walking a long way?" Rin asked, her large eyes blinking. Kagome nodded and took a large bite of her bagel. Rin smiled widely and put some of her long hair behind her ear. "You look it." She said plainly. Kagome glanced away as she chewed her bagel. The girl certainly was straight-forward. "You don't even have long pants?" The girl asked. Kagome looked at her skirt and shook her head. She took another sip of her water and started on the other half of her bagel. "Just that jean skirt and jacket for warmth? Denim is terrible for keeping warm!" She exclaimed with worry.

"Oh, I'm fine." Kagome lied and took a bite of her bagel. Her stomach was warm and her hunger was very much decreased. "Do you want a blanket?" The girl asked. Kagome stared at her in surprise. "You're offering me a blanket?" She asked carefully. Rin nodded with a very worried face and seemed completely serious. "I have one in the back of Gramma's car. I can give it to you since I have a lot at home anyway." She said, grinning. Kagome smiled and somehow couldn't refuse the girl's kind offer. "Sure, I'll take it." Rin's face lit up excitedly and she raced out the door as fast as she could. Kagome's heart suddenly leapt with worry when she remembered Inuyasha was at the door. She stared at the door and watched Rin skip to a dusty red van. Her heart lurched when she saw that Inuyasha wasn't there.

Kagome ripped her wallet out of her pocket and slammed a rather generous amount of money on the counter. She guzzled down the last of her water, shoved the rest of her bagel into her mouth, and grabbed the box full of bacon and toast. "Is everything alright?" The old woman asked. She saw the money on the counter and gasped. Kagome blurted out a thank-you and raced out the door. She picked up her grocery bags and jumped down the little stairs that led up to the door to the diner. Rin was folding up a large, sea-green blanket neatly and humming a happy song. But there was no sign of Inuyasha.

Kagome's head spun and she raced out into the parking lot. She spun around to face the diner and looked up on the roof. He wasn't there, either. "Ohmigosh...Oh...Ohmigosh..." Kagome jerked left and then right, trying to see where he was. Rin spotted her and smiled brightly. She trotted up to her and handed her the blanket. Kagome took it absentmindedly and stared around the parking lot in a daze. Rin tilted her head slightly. "Hey, you okay?" She asked with concern. Kagome whipped her head to Rin and stared. "Uhh...Yeah! Thanks for everything." She said blankly. "Thanks for the blanket. Nice meeting you." She rushed the words out.

Kagome spun away from her and ran around the side of the diner to see if Inuyasha was there. Her heart stopped and her legs froze on the spot. A police car was parked next to the diner, and to double Kagome's shock, Inuyasha was putting on the black top of his yukata that had fallen when he fought off the thugs. He glanced at her through his bangs while he buttoned up the triangular side buttons and raised an eyebrow. Kagome sighed loudly in relief, and then again in thought. '_What the heck is a police car with Inuyasha's shirt in it doing all the way out here?_" Kagome sputtered out in question to herself. Inuyasha wrapped the black sash around his waist and tied it. He cracked his back and stretched. "Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed quietly. He opened an eye as he stretched and looked at her. "Where are the police men that were in this car?" She asked, panic dawning on her. Inuyasha stopped stretching and relaxed himself. He fixed his sleeves and shrugged.

"Inuyasha, tell me where they are!" She pleaded, glancing around to see if someone was watching her. She wasn't convinced that he was telling the truth. Inuyasha sneered at her in irritation. "Heck if I know, woman! I smelled my shirt and went looking for it, that's all." He growled, dusting his shirt off. "They're dead when I see 'em, though. I'm _shocked_ at myself for being able to smell my scent through all of this human filth." He mumbled, obviously agitated.

The sound of the diner's door opening sounded out and Kagome spun around. "Are you sure she just left?" A man asked. "Yes, she was just here. She can't have gone too far." The old woman from the diner replied. Kagome's breath got stuck in her chest and she stood still. "I hope you find her." Rin said with a sad voice. "It's just so terrible." She said quietly. "Thank you, we'll do our best." A man said. The door to the diner closed and Kagome turned to face Inuyasha. "Take me onto the roof!" She whispered urgently. Inuyasha grimaced and looked like he would rather do anything but the thing Kagome had ordered him to do. Kagome's heart skipped strangely at the feeling of him wrapping his arms around her. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. It hadn't bothered her the last time Inuyasha had picked her up. Inuyasha jumped onto the roof in one quick movement. They landed smoothly. Inuyasha shoved her away and moved away from her with crossed arms. Kagome was somehow just as relieved to be away from him as he was to be away from her.

Kagome got down on her stomach and inched towards the edge of the roof. Two police officers came into sight and made their way to their car. "Can you believe they made us buy a cup of coffee just to use the bathroom?" One of them said. "Yeah! I didn't even want any coffee..." The other one mumbled. They got into their car. One of the officers picked something up. "Target was seen leaving roadside diner a short time ago. We're continuing the search." He said into the radio. Kagome's heart skipped. "They're searching for me...?" She whispered. The doors to the police car shut and the car backed out of the parking lot. Kagome watched it drive down the road and shrink into the distance.

"Inuyasha, we have to get a move on." Kagome said to Inuyasha seriously. He glanced at her with a smirk. "Why? You scared?" He asked in a quiet voice of taunting. Kagome looked at him unblinkingly. He raised an eyebrow. "Yes." She answered. His eyes widened and he stared. Kagome pushed herself onto her feet and slapped dirt off her clothes. "Okay, take me down now." She said, staring at the ground. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth. Did she enjoy making him suffer? How many times was she going to order him to do things he didn't want to that day? He picked her up and jumped off the roof. When they landed in the dirt, he shoved her away. Kagome stumbled with a gasp. She spun around to glare at him. "Hey! Try not to be so harsh! Jeez..." She slapped dust off her skirt and pulled her leg warmers up. She raised an arm and pointed a thin finger out. Inuyasha followed the direction it was pointing in with his eyes. "The direction those guys went?" He asked uncertainly. She nodded and began running at a steady pace. Inuyasha had no choice but to simply follow her. It didn't sound like a good idea to go in the direction of the people who were chasing you, but he didn't care. If it was her downfall, fine.

"Once we're clear of the diner, I'll slow down." Kagome yelled as she ran. Inuyasha sped up so that he would be next to her and she would see the full extent of his stabbing glares. "Keh! I can run for hundreds of miles and not get tired." He spat. Kagome flicked her eyes to meet his as they ran next to each other. "I know," She drawled in annoyance. "I'm saying it so when I slow down, you won't get mad." She grinned. Inuyasha's eyes winced and narrowed. "And how would you know if I would get mad or not?" He asked in a low voice. "Hah!" She looked away. "I think I know enough about your personality so far to know that you'd get upset over something like that." She said. "You'd say something like," She paused in thought for a moment. Inuyasha tried to calm himself down. How could she know what his personality was like? Of course she was lying and must have been trying to get on his nerves even more than she already was. "You'd say something like, 'Keh! You're so weak! I could still run for hours, you dumb human girl!'" She made her voice sound as rude and upset as possible and she glanced at him with a smile.

Inuyasha felt his face heat up and he immediately stared ahead of himself. "Keh, I don't--" He choked on his words and blinked. Kagome laughed. "See? When you're kind of agitated, you go 'Keh'." Inuyasha's head whirled at the strange feeling that he had made a huge mistake. Somehow he had let his guard down enough so that she could understand his personality better than he assumed her to. "I don't know what I say when I'm upset. What do I say?" She asked with what looked like a face of expectance. Inuyasha stared at her. It wasn't as though he had to answer that question. As if he actually knew what she said when she was upset...He never took note of her when she was upset. Because he didn't care. And she was asking him what she said when she was upset? It was preposterous. "Nothing..." He mumbled. He tried to ignore Kagome's voice as she busied herself in telling him about a woman who used to live next door to her house and cursed in strange languages when she was upset.

About ten or so minutes later, Kagome gasped and stopped. It was as if she had remembered something important. Inuyasha halted and turn to face her in annoyance. "What is it?" He said in a complaining voice. Kagome went to sit beneath a tree on the side of the road. The sun was hot and its waves of heat were thick and moist. The shade looked like a nice place to stop for a rest. Not that he was tired. He wouldn't have minded sitting under it himself just to feel the coolness. Only, Kagome was sitting under it. Sitting in a cool, shady spot under a big tree to keep away from the hot sun next to Kagome almost seemed _friendly_. He didn't like to think that way. Kagome waved him over with a quick flash of a frantic hand. She smiled at him brightly and didn't look away. She expected him to go and sit by her under that tree. If he argued and demanded to stay put, she could just _tell _him to sit by her. And being ordered around was never a fun thing. If he made it his own choice, then he wouldn't lose any pride. So what if he sat next to her under a tree? That didn't mean he liked her or anything. It was just a way to get out of her ordering him around.

He walked towards the tree and sat next to Kagome. He made sure that there was plenty of space between them. He wanted to make it apparent that he wasn't there because he wanted to be. Kagome wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed. "How could it have been so cold yesterday, and so warm today?" She asked, sounding as though she were asking herself more than him. She reached down to the bags next to her and pulled something up. It was a good-sized white box. Kagome handed it to him. He stared down at it with a raised eyebrow. He glanced up at her. '_What does she expect me to do, take it?_'

"Here," Kagome said, shaking it in front of him. The scent of food came out of the box once its contents were stirred from the shaking. He felt his stomach expand in its emptiness and hunger swept through him. "Oh, come on. I bought it for you so go ahead and eat it." He stared down at it, the wheels in his head turning. Still, he didn't take it. Kagome made a small groan at his stubbornness. "Don't make it so I wasted my money. You're hungry, aren't you?" She asked, blinking at him.

'_When she was in that place, she thought about my hunger and bought me food?_' He stared at her, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought. Kagome tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow at his expression. Inuyasha lowered his head and took the box from her quickly. He turned away from her and stared at it in his hands. Kagome leaned back into the trunk of the tree and twisted the cap off of a bottle of water. Inuyasha flicked his eyes to look at her through his hair. She tilted the bottle up and drank from it, glancing at the sky in thought. She set the bottle down beside her and folded her hands on her lap. She closed her eyes with a smile and a cool breeze swept through the trees and swirled around them. Her black hair fluttered in the wind and she took a deep, quiet breath through her nose. She seemed perfectly calm and content. She looked _happy_. Did the thought ever cross her mind of who she was sitting next to? She was completely secure around him. She wasn't scared. She was peaceful. She looked like she belonged under the shade of tall trees with the comfort of the wind around her. And she didn't care that she was sitting next to someone who had killed many and wanted to rule over everything, even her. She _trusted_ him.

And maybe it wasn't just because of the seal.

Inuyasha looked away quickly at the scary thought and stared down at the white box. He flicked the lid off with his claws to try and get his head together by focusing on somethign else. He stared in quiet surprise at the contents. A large quantity of well-cooked bacon and two thick, buttered pieces of toast. Kagome had sat in that restaurant with him in mind and ordered those things for him. '_How can she do this?_' He whispered in his mind. '_How can she _do_ this?_' He fingered a piece of toast and picked it up. Finding out that she was going to release him from he seal was bad enough. But somehow part of him had shrugged it off in an understanding that she was perhaps going to because she didn't care about life anymore. And _then_ she ordered food for him, taking to mind the fact that he too needed to eat.

That would mean her really accepting him as being alive and being a person. Food meant life. And if she gave him some, she wanted him to live. It was too confusing. He had made her life miserable. He should have at least succeeded in making her hate him. But what seemed impossible was becoming possible. Maybe she really didn't hate him. He took a bite of the toast. Half of him savored the taste and where it came from, but the other half wanted to throw up and starve instead of eat it.

His mind was in a daze as he ate. It was like he wasn't even thinking. He was just there, eating, with Kagome resting next to him against a tree. When the last piece of bacon disappeared into his mouth and he was finished eating, he tossed the white box away from himself so that Kagome would know that he was done without him having to say anything. Just as he thought, Kagome took in a deep breath and sat up straight. She smeared her hands over her face and picked up the white box. She put it into a plastic bag and pushed herself up, using one of her knees for support. She raked her hair back with her fingers and looked down at him. He stood up and glared away from her. After giving herself a quick stretch, she gathered her things and began walking down the road at a steady pace. Inuyasha followed her.

"Did you like the food?" Kagome asked, staring at him inquisitively over her shoulder. His ears flicked and his eyes twitched to narrow. He didn't want to answer. In truth the food was decent. It wasn't _exploding_ with flavor or anything, but it wasn't bad. He didn't want to like the things she gave him and he didn't want to aid her air of contentment by pleasing her with saying he liked it. But in the end she would end up forcing it out of him. He clenched his fists slowly. Maybe it wasn't so bad just being truthful. It wasn't like he was going to have to listen to her for long. After all, he would be freed. "It was okay," He murmured. Her face lit up and she nodded. She didn't say anything more than that. She didn't taunt him about him eating human food, and she didn't force him to say something like he _loved_ it. It was just like she was happy that he was okay with it. Like if he didn't enjoy it a _little_ bit, she would have been upset and felt bad.

"What's that sound?" He heard her ask herself under her breath. Inuyasha's ears stood up to listen and he winced his nose to smell. It was the sound and smell of rushing water. He narrowed his eyes with a smirk at her back. She wouldn't be able to figure something like that out given the distance they were from the water. Human senses were _much_ weaker than his. She could guess it was water, yes. But she didn't know how far away, what exact direction, and how much water there was. She wouldn't even be able to guess it was a water fall.

"It's a water fall!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Inuyasha's mouth opened and he stared at her blankly. She spun around to face him with a grin. "Oh my gosh, I've never seen a water fall in real life before!" She shouted. He stared. "Let's go! It's in the direction we need to go, anyway." She said with a wave of her hand. She made a strange giggle of excitement and raced off into the direction the almost misty sounds were coming from. Inuyasha's feet moved slowly on their own as he followed her. He was in a daze for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. All because of her. It was getting harder and harder to keep his head straight around her. She was just too weird. Too confusing. Too annoying. Too loud. Too quiet. Too happy. Too angry. Too sad. Too random. Too accepting.

Too interesting.

He slammed the door shut on his thoughts. His pace quickened as she got farther away from him. She was only about two yards away from him in truth, but the seal was itching in his head as he watched her run ahead of him. He narrowed his eyes. She was a reasonable distance away. It wasn't like she was_ so_ far. And the feeling he normally got was like rocks against his head. But it was a strange itching that time. Like an itch in his head and chest pulsing almost softly. He swallowed and placed a hand against his throat. He hadn't swallowed normally. It felt strange. Like there was something stuck. His eyes widened and panic flushed through him. Maybe he had a disease, or some kind of illness. His eyes shot to Kagome. She had been reading medical books before when she was treating his wounds. That might have meant that she knew many sicknesses. Could he ask her about something so trifling? '_NO._' He snapped to himself. '_As if I would let her know of my ailments. What is she, a nurse? She's just a girl!_' He tried to swallow again and dropped the hand that felt his neck to his side. It was a more normal swallow, but it was still like his throat was swollen.

Suddenly Kagome stopped. They were in an area where there were a few thin, leafless trees. Dark grey rocks and dirt smothered the ground around them. The loud roar of rushing water echoed. Kagome put her green blanket and her bags down at her feet and walked forward in what looked like awe. Inuyasha sped up to see closer. There was an enormous water fall stretching out and connecting where they stood to a cliff across from them. It was wide and rushing and went down and down and down untill the water exploded in a thick white cloud of mist. A large wooden log covered in moss went from where they stood all the way to the other side of the water fall.

The water was clear and shining in the mid-day sun and a cool, misty breeze flowed around them. Kagome grinned with a shiver from the cold and tightened her jacket around herself. She stepped to the front of the old-looking log and peered to the right down the long river. The water went on as far as they both could see. It was fast and swirling and the white caps of the rapids made Kagome shrink back just slightly in intimidation. Inuyasha narrowed an eye at her and almost felt the need to shove her in the water. It would have done wonders for the confusion his poor head had been going through that day. Even he needed some form of amusement every once in a while. Otherwise he'd grow terribly bored.

"Well, this is unexpected." Kagome said in a mumble. She raised an eyebrow and pressed a testing foot on the log. "Could you jump across this, Inuyasha?" She asked, staring down at the very bottom of the water fall. Inuyasha bit his lip lightly with one of his fangs and stared at the water. "It's too far across." He said, crossing his arms. Kagome looked at him. "Really?" She examined his face closely. Inuyasha blinked quickly at her observing face and turned away from her. "Quit it!" He snapped. Kagome sighed and put her hair behind her ears. "Okay, I believe you." She said in a determined voice. Inuyasha glanced at her. "You do?" He asked in surprise. She nodded. A drop of water hit his ear and it twitched in response. He had been telling the truth that it was too far apart. He hadn't hidden his honesty from her at all. But even if he had, she believed him? He looked at the fallen log in thought.

"Hold my hand and support me for a bit." She said. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he watched his hand move out. He tried in a desperate fit of flinching to bring it back, but it went. Kagome wrapped her hand around his and stood on the log. Inuyasha felt his muscles tighten to support her as she used him for balance. He stared at her hand in his and felt the odd feeling of his pupils thinning. He clenched his teeth in his mouth and swallowed. He tried to focus on a terrible memory to get his mind away from his current situation, but the harder he tried to focus, the more images of Kagome showed up in his mind. Kagome bounced on the edge of the log a little. "It's pretty stable." She said carefully. "For my weight, anyway." She looked down at him and stopped bouncing. "I don't know about you since you were so _heavy _when I carried you on my back that one time." She flashed a grin. Inuyasha felt his face get hot and he stared at her. His heart made a surging feeling and he snapped his head away from her, his hair flying around him. '_What...The hell...?_' He stared at the rocks in front of him in shock. "I'll be fine!" He blurted out. The feeling of her hand in his was getting heavier and he cursed her in his head.

"Jeez...My mom would die of a heart attack." She mumbled to herself. She let go of his hand and pressed a fist to her forehead. Inuyasha ripped his arm back to himself and grabbed the hand she had been holding with his clean one. He stared at the hand in a growing shock and disgust. But there was something else, too. He glared up at her. He wanted to call her horrible things, but before he could even say anything, she spoke. "Okay, we're gonna risk it. Climb up here." She stepped backwards on the log to give him room. He jumped up onto the log and stared down at the water that fell right beside them. The sound of Kagome's heart pounding in nervousness reached him and he stared at her. She looked confident, but perhaps she was going through an inner turmoil. He felt like he was supposed to be rejoicing in her emotional struggle, but he didn't feel anything to be happy about.

"Okay..." Kagome said slowly in quiet reassurance to herself. She took a step. Inuyasha followed. Step after step they walked across the log. It was old and not as round as it probably used to be, so balancing was surprisingly not as difficult as they had both thought. They were more than half way done. Kagome swallowed and sounded like she was trying to hold back laughter. Maybe she was amazed at herself. Walking across a waterfall wasn't something to be proud of, it was stupid. He braced himself and felt a swirling thought in his head that she was about to fall off any second. They were closer and closer to the edge of the log. Inuyasha swallowed and shook his head lightly. They were both doing fine. He couldn't believe that he was actually almost happy that they were both going to be okay on the other side of the water fall. Kagome jumped off the log and landed on the other side. Inuyasha jumped after her.

Kagome burst out laughing in an absurd mixture of relief and shock. She clapped her hands over her face and bent over where she sat as she gasped and laughed. Inuyasha shook himself off slightly to get the drops of water off. Kagome sighed loudly and stood up. She was beaming and staring all around in her accomplishment. She smeared water away from her face and grinned at him. He let their eyes meet for a moment before glaring away. She was so dumb, acting all happy and proud of herself. She could have fallen and died. She was ignorant and naive. He held back a sigh. He stared at the grass. He was glad that they were off that log. If they both fell, then it wasn't as if he could fly. And he knew that the curse would have acted up and he would have put his life before hers.

Kagome broke his thoughts as she gasped loudly. "My stuff!" She yelled, smacking her hands on her face. She groaned in disappointment and glared at the log as if to blame it for her own forgetfulness. "I guess I'll have to go and get them." She said. Inuyasha's head pulsed and he clenched his fists. "_Ha-ha_, very funny." He said with a raise of his eyebrows. "You can get more food and blankets some other place." Of course she could. It was reasonable. It wasn't like those were the only items of their kind in the world. "But you don't understand, I put my wallet down, too." She groaned. Inuyasha stared at her, sick at her stupidity. "So you left all of your money there..." He said slowly, staring. She looked at him in anguish and nodded. "I didn't want it to get wet while we were staring at the water fall, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on the blanket." She mumbled sadly.

Inuyasha stared at her with an emotionless expression. "Are you mentally sick?" He asked blankly. Kagome glared at him and put her hands on her hips. "No!" She yelled. "Wait here, I'll go get them. I crossed it once, I can do it again." She said loudly. She walked towards the log and stood on it. "I can get them, stupid!" He shouted, trying to force his words down back into himself. "I could get them much easier than you could." He snapped. Something inside of him was wrong. He _really_ didn't want her to cross the log again. She glared back at him and spit out her tongue. Inuyasha's face winced into shock and he blinked. She spun away from him and took a step forward.

Then the wood beneath her foot cracked and her leg began sinking into the log. The rotted wood scraped around her thigh and the scent of her blood flooded through his nose like a nightmare drug. Everything happened in what seemed like split seconds. Kagome almost looked angry at the log. Her face twisted into a mad disbelief at her fate. Her teeth flashed white as she clenched them in anger. She knew what was happening and she was bracing herself. She ripped her leg out of the log, blood splattering. She gasped at the pain and her leg faltered. It obviously was more than she had expected. Her eyes widened in a panic and she slipped off the log. She began to fall forward. Everything that was happening in those seconds caught up with Inuyasha and he rushed forward onto the log to grab her. His head slammed loudly and his feet almost seemed cemented to the log. There wasn't any chance he would slip. He threw himself onto his stomach with a strange whine of desperation and shot and arm down to grab her hand, stretching it as much as he could.

Her eyes flashed fear as she stared at him. His body ached in pulsing, fiery pain as her panic and terror rushed through him. She swung her arm up frantically to grab his hand. His claws brushed her fingertips. She fell out of his reach. She was helpless to the heartless clutches of gravity. Her hair flew up around her and her clothes fluttered loudly as she fell. "INUYASHA!" She yelled, her voice fading as she fell. His head clicked and his mind shut down. His claws sunk into the warm, bloody wood beneath him. Water slammed against his legs but the coldness didn't matter. His eyes stared down at her in a stunning clearness. All of his senses were heightened as he watched her. His eyes flickered and a smoldering glint of angry fire lit them. They narrowed slowly and his claws winced and twitched and sunk deeper into the wood. His whole body began shaking. His fangs clenched harshly and he moved forward on the log. The top of the mist was beginning to grab hold of Kagome and drag her down into the whiteness where he couldn't see.

'_She's falling._'

Everything that he remembered about Kagome came into his head so fast it felt like his skull was being ripped open. It was such a shock of searing pain. From the instant he felt her take the book he was sealed in into her arms, to everything after, and then to where they were then. Everything smashed into him and his mouth opened. He shoved himself off of the log with every particle of his strength and let the wind rush around him as he fell. He was feeling what Kagome was feeling. It was a strange sensation, like his stomach was tight and his heart was coming to his throat. It was the sensation of falling. The sound of the water fall was roaring and deafened every other sound.

He sped faster down and down towards Kagome. She was swallowed up into the mist. His heart lurched and he couldn't see her. The mist wrapped around him and he reached an arm out as he fell to try and feel where she was. His claws touched her fingers and he grabbed her hand fiercely. He couldn't see anything in front of him, but he was content in the fact that he had her hand. The white mist blinded him and he ripped her up towards him until he felt her body against his. He curled his arms around her as fast as he could so that he knew for sure she was safe. He felt her sobbing against him and her fingers twisted around his clothes. Inuyasha stared down into the mist as they fell. They were almost at the bottom. There could have been jagged rocks or they could both drown, but she was with him and he was protecting her. He felt a true feeling of contentment and he stared into the mist, his face serious. He moved his mouth close to her ear. "Hold your breath." He said loudly.

They both gasped in air and slammed into the water.

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_**Insane-san says:** Sweeeeet. I'm so happy with this chapter. Oh man, I am SO stoked for the next one. I'm seriously looking forward to writing it. We're getting so close to all of this insane stuff! I guess they don't call me **Insane-san** for nothing. ;D ...Not that anyone really calls me **Insane-san** out of fanfiction dot net... -glances around- I hope you guys liked this chapter. n.n Tell me what you thought, okay? Yesss, I know you will. Oh, and as before, if you haven't checked your e-mail, check it. I may have replied to your reviews. (I can't remember who I replied to, 'cause I'm a ditz:D I replied to everyone, I think.) Fare well until...Erm...After Thanksgiving, I think? Maybe. Probably. Most likely. Have a great...day? Night? Thanksgiving? XD Bye for now, my fluffies. ;3  
_

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	13. Page Thirteen

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_**Insane-san says:** Hello my readers. ;3 Here we are again. Brace yourself for this next chapter. DON'T GET SCARED...Just be cool...Be chillin'. Be...GELLIN'.  
_

_"ARE YOU GELLIN'?"  
"LIKE A FELLON."_

_Skittles to you if you know where that's from and think it's flippin' silly. MOVING ON.  
_

_I had a seriously nasty virus throughout that whole week I was gone for Thanksgiving, which is why I didn't type any of this chapter while I was there. Okay, I typed like, a little paragraph. WOOT, GO SELF, GO. -chokes- I was too medicated and dazed to write, basically. My train of thought was clogged almost as bad as my nose was. Plus I was blowing my nose every five seconds and I don't think my lotion-coated fingers from the tissues would have been able to sustain any typing..._

_Well, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Mine was good. The food was great. And no, I didn't eat until I exploded in vomit like _some_ people do on that holiday... _

_I love you people so much. o.o No, that isn't the meds talking. I'm over the sickness and off the pills. But I just felt this morning, this over-whelming feeling of pride...and happiness towards everyone who has read and are currently reading this, and everyone who reviewed and are going to review...I'm so happy with you people. I know it doesn't seem like much unless I single you out personally by your name or something. But I just check my fanfiction hits and see each and every one of you 8,000 plus people who have read and are still reading, and people who have reviewed. I read **every one** of your reviews. Trust me, I do. I love reading what you have to say. And I'm just really thankful to you guys. I feel like we're connected through this story and we're all friends or something...Okay, it sounds creepy. But if you get beyond that it's kind of nice, right? x.x Oh my God, I need to stop now...jeez...-blink- Just ask me for a barf bag, and I'll hand it over to you if you want..._

_Okay, author's note is too long. n.n Okay, okay. Umm...OKAY, I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I decided to just chuck it out at you guys since you're all frothing at the mouth at my evil cliff-hanger. Jeez, I hope some of you haven't died out there... o.o;_

_I DON'T WANT TO GO TO JAIL FOR MURDER, DADDY. _

_...Yeah, I should go...um... -glances around-_

_This is **Insane-san**, jumping another fanfiction hurdle,  
singing off! ...I mean, sagging off...! Er...Signing...off...'kay, read. -.-  
_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page thirteen._

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"Have you been here all night?"

Inuyasha's eyes opened just a little and he stared at the woman who stood over him.

The room was dark except for the bit of moonlight that came in through the open window and the light from the open door. The sound of rustling movement met his ears as the woman sat beside him where he lay. Her bitter scent of mint covered him like a familiar blanket.

"Yes, Nana." He mumbled. He sat up, his over-sized robes falling down over his shoulders. He bowed his head and shook it around to wake himself. He stifled a yawn and licked his lip to un-stick a fang. He glared around the big bedroom and sunk his claws into the silky top-cover of his father's bed. "How is she?" He asked quietly, not looking up. There was a long pause of silent hesitation. With each silent second that passed by, Inuyasha's face grew more pensive. His arms shook as his claws deepened their holes in the blankets.

"She's dead, Young One..." The soft answer came. It echoed in his head and his face melted of emotion. His arms released the blankets and his shoulders slumped back. "...Dead..." He whispered. His nurse maid sat beside him and placed a consoling arm over his back. Minutes of silent grieving passed and neither of them said a word. The air was thick with the sense of sorrow and they both sat in denial of the truth. Slowly, Inuyasha slid himself forward off the bed. His nurse maid's arm slipped off of his boyish figure. "Y-Young..." Her voice fell and she stopped herself from speaking. Inuyasha curled his fingers into fists. His jaw trembled and he tried to keep it steady by clenching his teeth together. Somehow it only made the shaking worse. "I want to see her." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat quietly. "...She..." His nurse maid whispered.

"I _said_," He bent himself over, staring murderously into the marble floor. "I want...To see her." He finished in a tone as dangerous as a boy could make himself sound. A gentle hand fell on his shoulder and he stared at it. "You may," His nurse maid said softly. Her turquoise eyes stared down sadly into his golden ones, sharing his grief. Inuyasha swallowed with a nod and took her hand, waiting for her to lead him. "But..." Her voice came above a whisper. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and tried to un-fog his mind to hear her reply.

She sat on her heels in front of him to be closer to his eye level. Her purple servants' dress spread out around her and she took his hand in both of hers. She shook her long blonde hair from her face before she spoke. Her sharp human features winced in thought. "Your father...Had instructed that she be...cremated immediately after death." She said quietly, in a voice easy to understand. Inuyasha's pupils thinned and he twitched his lip to show a fang. His eyebrows furrowed in angry confusion. "Father...?" He asked, his voice hinting shock. She nodded.

Inuyasha broke his hands away from hers and ran out the door of his father's bedroom. He ignored her shouts for him to go back. His bare feet slapped against the cold marble floors and his robes flapped around him as he ran. He tripped over the long leggings and let his sleeves fly back in the sheer speed he was putting them through. He bit his lip hard until blood ran down his chin. His eyes flashed and burned with his emotions. He grabbed out at the expensive statuettes and paintings and mirrors and vases as he ran, smashing them and throwing them to the floor in his rage.

He screamed curses at his father endlessly, letting himself fall into a bitter-sweet ocean of hate. When he got to the throne room, his eyes locked on his target and he ran for the life-size statue of his father. It was tall and clad in the royal armor of his title; Leader of the lands, and general to the army. Inuyasha seethed and jumped at it. He clamped his fingers around the statue's head and pulled it to the hard floor. The stone face cracked and pieces of the rock chipped and raced along the ground.

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Inuyasha's face and his eyes flickered in angry excitement over the cracking statue. He gave a grunt of determined strength as he lifted the statue off of the ground. He cried out in anger as he threw it across the room. It crashed into the floor and large chunks of it flew off. Inuyasha trembled at the feeling of satisfaction and ran for it again. That time, someone grabbed the back of his over-sized robes and lifted him off the ground. Inuyasha slashed at the air and tried to spin around to see who was keeping him from destroying his target of hate. A strong scent hit his nose and his eyes flashed deep gold. He narrowed his eyes and licked the blood he had drawn off of his lip.

"Put me down, Sesshoumaru." He commanded darkly in his boyish voice. Sesshoumaru made a noise of quiet amusement similar to a laugh and turned his little brother around. "Didn't anyone teach you to honor your father?" He asked coldly. "Hn...Then again, you're incapable of being taught much of anything. You'd rather put your grubby, filthy fingers around a statue of someone much better than yourself." Inuyasha seethed and ground his teeth harshly. "It's much_ easier _destroying the fake one than the real one...isn't it?" Sesshoumaru asked in a manipulating voice. Inuyasha's body shook with anger and he stared into his older half-brother's emotionless eyes. "From that look," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "I'd say you agree with me. After all," He paused. His eyes showed despite for a moment before the look was covered. "You're just a half--"

Inuyasha shot his claws out and slashed them over Sesshoumaru's face. Sesshoumaru gasped in shock and threw Inuyasha away from himself. Inuyasha back-flipped in the air and landed crouched-over on his feet. He tensed his bloody claws in front of himself and let a long growl release itself from his chest. Sesshoumaru moved his hand away from his face slowly, his fingers flinching as his emotion wall gave way. Thin, deep trenches of crimson marked his face. Blood trickled down his cheeks and cut lips and he bared his fangs slowly. "How...Dare you..." He said in a deep growl. He straightened himself up to his full height. Inuyasha's head came up to Sesshoumaru's lower chest in comparison. Inuyasha spit blood that leaked from his lip onto the floor and let his eyes signal their challenge. He wasn't in the mood for speaking or doing much else other than pretending to kill his father. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and cracked the knuckles in his fingers.

"Can _anybody_ tell me," A booming voice reverberated through the enormous golden room, reaching up to the extremely tall dome-ceiling. "What it is I'm seeing here?" Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru whipped their heads around to the voice and stared. Sesshoumaru's intimidating demeanor faltered and he put his shoulders back. His emotion wall raised itself back up. "The Halfling was destroying your statue, Father. When I tried to stop him, he did _this _to my face." He said quietly. Inuyasha's eyes locked with his fathers and he sent all of what he was feeling through a stare. It was obvious that he got the message from the way his father's face winced into a serious kind of thought.

"Don't call him _Halfling_, Sesshoumaru. Call him _little brother_." He reasoned loudly, waving his thoughts aside. He walked into the middle of the main hall and stood over his fallen statue. "Why did you do this to my statue, Inuyasha?" He asked calmly. He sat down slowly onto his heels and smoothed a hand over the detailed rock. "Because..." Inuyasha drawled in a low voice. "It was the closest thing to you I could find...Since you were busy..." He stepped closer to his father.

"BURNING MY MOTHER!" He screamed.

His father stood up and turned to face Inuyasha. He narrowed his dark-golden eyes in thought. He put a hand up to stop Sesshoumaru from reaching to hit Inuyasha for his disrespectfulness. "Inuyasha..." His father said, his voice close to kindness. Inuyasha put his ears straight, trying to calm his angry trembling. He waited in suffocating silence for his father to speak again. He was rarely around, and when he spoke he usually had something helpful or almost fatherly to say, and Inuyasha would listen. But that was before Sesshoumaru's mother was called back into the family.

"...Your robes are too big." His father said. Inuyasha's eyes widened. "You'll grow into them one day," He walked towards Inuyasha in confidence. "But for now, you need to keep them straightened up instead of falling off all over the place...Look at you." He said with a smirk as he examined Inuyasha's robes. He knelt in front of Inuyasha at a stunning closeness and began fixing the thick red robes with their suttle golden patterns. Inuyasha's eyes were wide at the closeness. He had never seen his father so close to him before. It was a shock.

But the feeling faded and melded back into hate and anger, and images of his mother burning in flames sliced around his mind like poisoned daggers. "I will never..." Inuyasha began in a growl. He slapped his father's hands away in one daring movement. "...Wear these robes." He narrowed his eyes and glared down at his father's face. He backed up and pulled the top of his robes off and threw it onto the ground. Then he ripped off the leggings so that he only wore the stiff, white under-robes beneath. His father avoided his eyes and stood up with a sigh. He turned around and began walking away. Inuyasha's head swayed in panic and sadness and he stared after his father.

"She didn't want to be burned!" He shouted to his father. He kept walking. "SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO BE _BURIED_." He screamed, searching for a reaction from his un-caring father. "NEXT TO _YOU_!" He yelled desperately. His father stopped at his words, finally. "She said that when she died, she wanted to die at the same time as you..." He said, tears welling up in his eyes. "So you could be together in _heaven_ right away, and she wouldn't _miss_ you." He spat, narrowing his eyes in hatred. His father bowed his head. Inuyasha's heart raced and for a moment he believed that his father would say something kind. Something good and caring about his mother in her memory. The love his mother had for her husband was possibly stronger than the love Inuyasha had for his mother. But it didn't matter then.

She was dead.

"Izayoi was a good woman, Inuyasha." His father said. Inuyasha slapped his fists over his eyes childishly and ground his teeth, trying to suck his emotions back inside his body. "But she was also an ill woman." Inuyasha let his fists fall from his eyes and he moved his eyes to look at his father. "If you were in my position, you'd understand." He said in a quiet voice of reasoning. "Having a human bride was like...having a horse for a wife to our people...But we got through it. Then after you were born, she was always sick." He looked over his shoulder at Inuyasha. Inuyasha tried to deafen himself. He didn't want to hear his father's sick words.

"To be the Lady of these lands means to make appearances to the people, to show that she was a strong Lady of these lands and deserved the title...And to make heirs to the position. She couldn't do any of those things in that state, so I had to re-marry. Do you understand?" He asked. Inuyasha lowered his head and glared at his father through his silver bangs. He tried to even his shaky breathing. "And," His father continued. "Having her cremated wasn't because I disliked her. It was because having a history of a human Lady in the kingdom of demons is a mar...A flaw. An imperfection." Inuyasha's fists clenched tighter at each word.

"A blemish." His father said finally. A searing pain sliced through Inuyasha's head. He couldn't believe his father's cruelty towards his mother. The kind, smiling face of his mother came into his head and he tried to swallow the bulge he was feeling in his throat. "I did love her--" Inuyasha cut his father off with a scoff. "Yeah, that's why you came to visit her on her sick-bed every day!" He snapped sarcastically.

His father glanced at the floor and was silent for a moment. "I wasn't exactly jumping to cremate her body, Inuyasha. It wasn't for personal reasons," Inuyasha glared at him, letting the image of his mother fade away and get replaced with his hateful father. "It was standard. Because our kind don't accept humans. Don't you understand that?" He asked, facing Inuyasha from across the room. Inuyasha straightened himself up and backed away with a nonchalant expression. He let his head fall to his shoulder as he relaxed himself and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, _Father_. I understand." He said innocently. His father's face winced and he narrowed his eyes. "But it's not _our_ kind," Inuyasha said, narrowing his own eyes. "It's _your_ kind." His father raised a serious eyebrow in question. "Because _my_ kind accepts whoever they _want_, and _don't_ want." He said with a sneer, backing away.

"And _my_ kind doesn't accept selfish JERKS like you, and their WHORISH, _PURE-DEMON_ WIVES!" He snarled. "BECAUSE THE ONLY PERSON OF _MY_ KIND IS _ME_!" Sesshoumaru was growling loudly but wasn't taking action. His father remained passive as he stared at his youngest son. Inuyasha smirked. "You better lock yourself up some place _far_ away from here when you know you're gonna die, because when that day comes," His face twisted into anger and dis-trust and he didn't look like a young half-demon boy anymore.

"I'll come back to burn _YOU_!"

He jumped backwards and ran to the wide stain-glass window that glowed purple in the moonlight. He jumped through it, glass shattering around him. He landed outside in the grass and raced off towards the line of trees far into the distance. The grass was dark green and wet and the sky was black and dotted white with stars. The moon smiled down at him in a taunting crescent and he jumped through the trees to be away from its glare. Tears streamed down his face and he wiped them away in annoyance. The trees scraped and grabbed at him to hold him back and keep him in his prison of a home. He wanted to leave and be away. He would never go back. He didn't need anybody and he didn't want anybody.

There was no one left on the earth to trust. He had no family and no friends. But it was better that way. He would grow stronger and then go back and seek revenge. He would make everyone pay for making him live the way he had. Constantly under the expectant and hating eyes of everyone around him. People making decisions about what he did and didn't want before he could give his say. People telling him who he was going to be and how he was going to dress. People judging him on what he was rather than who he was. Never truly having a father, and having a sick mother who couldn't even stand up.

He envied his mother for being some place so far away and nice.

As his feet carried him farther and farther away, the realization of what was happening hit him. He had no place to go. No clothes, no food, no shelter. He was off of his father's lands by then and far away from his "home". There was no one he could talk to about himself or his mother. But that was fine, he realized. Everything was going to turn out just like he planned. He'd be the ruler of his father's _people_. But not the same kind. He'd be his own ruler and he'd live the way he wanted.

He'd destroy everyone who looked up to his father as their leader. It was a simple plan and he looked forward to it; getting stronger and finding his own way. He'd be stronger than everyone, and then he'd show them that it was as mistake to judge him on the simple fact that he was only half of a demon. His feet reached a cliff and he stopped, staring at the other side not bothering to look down. He would jump it. He smirked. There was no one on that whole planet that deserved to live but him.

No one at all.

A soft sound hit his ears. The sound of a quiet gasp. His ears stood up slowly. "Inuyasha," Someone called helplessly. His eyes snapped open wide and he stared down at the cliff beneath his feet. In a sick, dizzying turn of motion, the scenery changed. Suddenly a waterfall appeared in front of him and he was standing on a slippery log instead of at the edge of a rocky cliff. Water sprayed the back of his legs and cold, icy wind swept around him. His feet slipped on the wet log, but the liquid wasn't cold. He stared down at the log and saw that it was soaked with hot blood. His face contorted in a silent scream of disgust. His feet slipped and he tried to remain standing. He stared down the water fall.

A girl older than him stared up at him in a desperate look of searching. Her thin fingers dug into the rotting log weakly at his feet and tears spilled down her pale face. Blood dripped from her hair and face, and trailed down her legs to fall down with the water. She hung over the waterfall limply and swayed in the night breeze just slightly. Inuyasha's pupils went paper-thin and his mouth opened. "Help me..." She whispered, her grey eyes catching his and holding them completely in a stare. Her fingers slipped from the log and she fell down the waterfall.

The sight was almost impossible. It was like he felt it couldn't be happening. He was dreaming. Then his own feet left the log and he dove after her, hell-bent on saving her life. The utter determination on saving her shocked him for a moment, and for a split second he wondered in a panic why he had jumped off the log. And why it was so important to save that girl. And why he wanted to put his own life down for hers if it meant keeping her safe. Then it hit him like it was the most obvious thing. '_Oh..._' He blinked down at her as the mist began to wrap her up. Water splashed against his body and flew up to mix in with his hair.

'_Because she's Kagome._'

His fingertips brushed hers and he grabbed her hand. Everything felt frighteningly familiar and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Kagome grabbed his hand tightly and moved herself in front of him as they both fell. She stared into his eyes and smiled in a confidence towards something. His heart pounded in his ears and he wondered how he could have been so selfish as to forget that, of course, Kagome deserved to live. She was human, but she wasn't human.

No one on the planet deserved to live but himself? It was complete nonsense. He didn't understand how he could have been so forgetful. But somehow it was hard for him to accept that she deserved to live. It was so easy to admit that she deserved life, but he couldn't get the thought straight in his head. "You don't want me to die?" She asked in a whisper as she stared at him. Inuyasha let himself relax and fall into her smiling face. "No, Kagome." He answered quietly.

"Didn't you want to kill me?" She asked. Inuyasha's eyes widened and water streamed past his face rapidly. There had been a time where he truly wished her dead. But that couldn't have been right. Maybe he was dreaming at the time. "I don't want to now." He said in earnest, his boyish eyes flashing their seriousness. She didn't look convinced. She seemed almost un-caring of what he was saying. His heart pounded heavily. "Then why did you let the man take me away?" She whispered. Inuyasha blinked water out of his eyes. "He was here," She said. "Can't you smell him? You felt him walk by, remember?" A strange memory of a scent hit his nose and his head felt light at the shock.

The sounds of the waterfall faded and were replaced with the sounds of rushing water from a river. The feeling of falling ceased and everything around him began to melt and fade. Kagome pushed him away from herself. She dove into the water and disappeared. Inuyasha's mouth opened at the loss and he stared in disbelief. "KAGOME!" He tried to dive after her, but the waterfall wrapped around him and held him in place. A sense of freezing coldness smothered his body and he took in a large breath of shock. The water wrapped around him tightly and he tried futilely to tear the watery chains off.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open wide and he gasped hugely.

He was almost fully submerged in water, and tall rocks on the swirling river's floor held him in place. The water was bitingly cold and he was numb all over. Images of his father flickered in his head. Things that he had locked far back into his mind had all come out of hiding from his dream. The mint scent of his nurse-maid and the stuffy smell of his mother's bedroom. The almost suffocating scent of his brother, and his cold, careless stare. Every small detail of what was never truly his home. Every inch of his father's lands. The face of his father and the smell of his strange cologne that he liked to wear. Things he hadn't seen or smelled in what felt to him like thousands of years flooded him in a vomit-worthy sense of familiarity.

His teeth chattered loudly and his eyes flashed angrily. He tried to break free from the tight, painful grip the rocks had on his body. His strength was drained by the cold water and memories of his past, and he struggled to climb up onto land. He kicked against the rocks harshly and heaved himself onto the shore. He rolled over away from the water and onto his bruised back. He stared into the black sky and shivered in the freezing coldness. His breath came out in quick, white puffs of air and he tried to calm his gasping. He forced the memory of his dream down into the back of his mind. Slowly he began sifting the memories of his past back into the locked doors of his mind. He held onto everything he remembered of his mother for a painful moment longer than the others before he shut it away. He choked down the almost violent need to throw up. He sat up quickly as he shook, his face showing anger. He slapped a shaking hand onto his head and then put it out in front of his face.

His hand was covered red with his blood. He remembered slamming against a rock as the river carried him and Kagome downstream. He had managed to push her onto the shore before he blacked out, but he didn't know how far away that was from where he sat then. His head pounded in panic and he jumped to his feet, staring around his surroundings quickly. He cursed loudly and ripped off the top of his robes and began squeezing the icy water out of it. His teeth slammed against themselves in the cold and he squeezed water out of his hair. He threw his sopping shirt over his shoulder and began running down the shore to search for Kagome. His feet stopped in their tracks and he made a noise of surprise.

His eyes met the footprints of a bare-footed male. Something was peculiar about them. The prints sunk deep into the sand as though the person had been carrying weight other than their own. Inuyasha bared his fangs angrily at the prints and clenched his fists as they shook from the cold. The strange scent he had smelled in his dream went into him and Kagome's voice echoed in his head. '_You felt him walk by, remember?_' He immediately began running as fast as he could, following the tracks in the sand.

The frigid air stung coldly on his flesh and added to the icy-coldness of his wet clothes. His feet kicked up sand and he tried to awaken his numb legs. The sick image of a strange man carrying an un-conscience Kagome appeared in his head. She had blacked out just seconds before he pushed her onto the shore, proving that the shock of freezing water and the pain from her bleeding thigh was too much to handle all at once. A decent human would treat their own kind appropriately and carry her to their home to keep her warm and care for her until she was well. He blinked cold water from his eyes. '_An un-decent human..._' His head burned, his eyes widened and he let his imagination spin out of control.

His legs warmed up and naturally picked up speed. The burning feeling of some stinging, foreign emotion flooded his body and he felt hot inside with it. He stopped trembling and let the unfamiliar warmth spread through his body. Minutes of running passed almost silently as his mind twisted in its hollowing thoughts. The feeling of stones being cracked onto his head wasn't happening, so he knew that wherever she was, she wasn't in danger. At least not at that moment. But the nagging voice at the back of his head asking why he was panicking if she wasn't in danger was getting to him. He darted to the left into a clearing of wet grass and followed the scent of the human male closely. The scent led him to a rickety-looking bridge and he jumped over it with ease. He landed stiffly on the other side and broke through a wall of vines and trees. He stumbled forward and slowed himself to a stop.

He was standing in front of what looked like a very old, very broken-down village. There were little houses made of wood, but they were dead and had been abandoned for what looked like hundreds of years. Cliffs rose up in the back of the village like a protective wall. In the center of the many little rotting houses stood a taller, newer-looking house. It was lit up with orange light that came out of the windows and glowed in the night. Inuyasha closed his eyes and sniffed the air. He let his eyes open to determined slits and bared his fangs slowly. He made a mad-dash in the direction of the house.

The thought of why a human male would have themselves camped in an old, run-down village was odd to him. There was no other life other than the large house in the middle of the many old houses. Humans were social and needed other humans. They needed things like market-places and hospitals and places to eat. A human who severely un-included himself by staying some place so far from life must have had something wrong with their head. That made the feeling of worry surge up fresher inside of Inuyasha and he slowed himself in front of the glowing house. His feet slipped against the icy grass and he struggled to stay upright.

He breathed in quick, white puffs and walked to the window, glaring at it through his wet bangs. He moved his face close to the cold glass and smeared the thin cover of ice off with the wet sleeve of his white under shirt. A large fire place was lit with dancing flames. The light glowed through the room and revealed a table and chairs, potted plants, paintings framed on the wall, and a stair-case leading to a second floor. There were bookshelves and rugs, and wooden floors and walls. It seemed like a normal house. His eyes darted to the wall on the far right.

On a purple couch, covered in thick quilts and sleeping soundly, was Kagome.

Inuyasha let a nearly silent sigh leave his lips and his breath made a patch of fog on the window. He walked around the house to the front door. He pulled his shirt off of his shoulder and put it back on. His eyebrow twitched in thought as he tied his sash around his waist. His shirt was cold and wet, and having it on just made him colder, but he put it on before he entered. He shook his head clean of his awkward thoughts and jerked open the door quietly. He placed a foot past the doorway and placed it silently onto the wooden floor. The warmth absorbed through his foot and traveled into him invitingly. He walked further past the doorway and closed the door behind him. His tensed his body and held his breath to listen for other sounds of life in the house. When he didn't feel or hear anything other than the soft breathing of Kagome, he relaxed himself.

He knocked a fist against his forehead and held it there with clenched teeth. His head was pulsing hotly and he tried to swallow it down. He lifted a foot to walk towards her, but put it back onto the floor. It was strange to approach her. After the weird feelings and thoughts he had when they were falling down into the water, to the dream he had with her in it, which was very awkward to think about whenever he thought back on it. He smeared away blood that ran down his eyebrow from his head and took a deep breath. He shook his head harshly, angry at himself, and walked towards where Kagome slept. He dropped himself silently onto one knee and examined her.

She was dry except her hair which was brushed out around her neatly. Someone had brushed it. Inuyasha tried to keep his eyes from narrowing to the thick pulsing of the foreign emotion he kept feeling. She was giving off a feeling of warmth instead of cold, probably due to the thick patch-quilts that covered her. Inuyasha sniffed the blankets lightly and only smelled the damp scent of the unknown man. He twitched his lip into a silent snarl and felt the compulsive urge to rip the blankets from Kagome because they were somehow dirty. He pressed his knuckles into the wooden floor and swiveled his ears around for sounds. He wanted to leave the horrible house and get back to where they had been walking before. But Kagome was asleep. And his head winced at the revelation that he hadn't a clue as to how to wake her up.

The memory of Kagome waking him up came into his head. She had a hand on his shoulder and was calling him, he remembered. His eyebrow twitched and he swallowed dryly. He knew that he probably couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her. It was just too weird to him. '_Get a grip already. Just pull the covers off of her and start screaming at her or something!_' He reasoned to himself angrily. He nodded and put a hand out to grab the covers. The instant his claws hit the material he drew them back with a curse as though he had burned himself. He chewed his lower lip in impatience and cracked his neck as he thought. He blinked at a new idea. He moved himself a little closer to her. "Kagome--" His voice came out in a cracked gurgle. He smacked a hand over his face and shook with frustration.

He slid his hand down his face slowly and burned a glare at her peaceful expression. Whenever it came to her, things just had to be so difficult. It couldn't ever be easy, and he didn't understand why. He drummed his claws against the wooden floor and brain-stormed for a different approach. He grabbed the arm-rest of the couch and shook it as hard as he dared to, which was in truth not hard at all. Kagome's head moved a little from the light shaking and then her eyebrows winced into a mild scowl. She opened her eyes a little and Inuyasha stopped shaking the couch. He whipped his arm back to his side and backed away from the couch a few inches. Kagome took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling through half-closed eyes.

Then she gasped and sat up. Inuyasha jumped at her un-expected reaction. She gasped again and slapped her hands over the sides of her head. Then she darted her eyes around the house in horror. She didn't seem to take notice to Inuyasha, who was on one knee not far from the couch staring at her with his mouth open. She twisted her fingers into her hair and her eyes flashed fear. "Inuyasha...?" She called quietly. It was almost a squeak of a question. Scared and inquiring. Almost testing to see if he would answer, but it wasn't likely to her. Inuyasha stared and tried to get the right words out of his mouth. It was like she was lost and afraid without him.

"I'm right here, idiot." He said gruffly. Kagome snapped her head to look down at him and she rubbed her eyes quickly. She blinked at him in surprise and then sighed. Her demeanor calmed and she smacked a hand against her chest where her heart was. She smiled with relief and laughed quietly at herself. Inuyasha felt himself blinking at her and his fingers coiled into fists against the wooden floor. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and swallowed silently. She locked her eyes with his and he felt his ears wince. She smiled apologetically to her own dumbness and said, "Sorry, I couldn't see you. The fire light's kind of...Well, it's that effect where the outline of you is lit up, but you're dark..." She blinked at the floor as she fumbled for the right words. Suddenly Inuyasha felt himself get zapped with the shock that he wasn't annoyed by her rambling voice.

Kagome leaned a bit closer to him to see him better. She seemed satisfied that she could see him better at first, but then her face was smothered with shock and she opened her mouth. "Oh my gosh, Inuyasha!" Inuyasha felt his body jerk and his eyes snapped open. "What, what is it?" He asked loudly, trying to hide his inner panic. What if there was some kind of entrail-eating creature on him?

"You're bleeding!" She said, trying to keep her voice down. She leaned forward and pressed a gentle hand to his head just beside his ear. Inuyasha stared at her extremely close face in shock and felt himself freeze. She pulled her hand away from the sticky blood and frowned deeply. She threw the covers off of herself and knelt in front of him ungracefully. She examined his head closely and moved some hair away from his head to see the injury better. Inuyasha tried to ignore her closeness, and to ignore her chin brushing against the flesh above his eyebrow as she tended to his wounded head, and to ignore the feeling of her fingers moving his hair, and to ignore her quiet voice as she muttered her worries over him to herself.

He failed.

To keep his eyes from hovering over her, he closed them slowly. He licked his dry lips and attempted to swallow. His blood pounded in his veins and he tried to settle the sickness the romping fluttering in his stomach was making. Kagome pulled a small stick from his hair and tossed it away. Her scent went into him and almost seemed to get stuck in his throat. He tried to swallow it away and let the fog in his head spread thickly.

Kagome moved away and looked at him. "The bleeding's stopped," She said with a nod, staring at her bloody fingers. "But you...Have..." She breathed quietly. She stared at the blood on her fingers and something began dawning on her. Inuyasha shook his head harshly and tried to get a grip on reality once more. He waited in silent expectance for her to finish her sentence. Her fingers shook slightly and she stared with wide, frightened eyes at her hands. Inuyasha narrowed an eye and glanced at her hands to see if there was something wrong. The only abnormal thing about her fingers was his blood that covered a couple of them. That couldn't have been the problem. He stared at her shocked, scared face and held back the urge to tell her to spit it out.

She turned her shaky head to her leg and moved her skirt up. Inuyasha stared in surprise and felt his jaw clamp tightly at how much leg she was revealing. He snapped his eyes to the fire and let the heat mingle with his face. A light ripping sound met his ears and he turned his head to glance over his shoulder carefully. His eyes met Kagome's leg and he saw that she was ripping off bandages in a daze. Her face was pale and shined with sweat. He turned himself around and stared at the bloodied bandages that were wrapped around her thigh.

Kagome's lips parted in a series of twitches to reveal her white, clenched teeth. She unwrapped the bandage from her thigh wincingly and dropped them in repulse. She grabbed her vibrating hand and swallowed loudly. "Get me out of here..." She whispered. Inuyasha's pupils thinned and he stared. His head pulsed with her uncomfortable emotions. She flicked her eyes away from the bloody bandages to meet his eyes. They flashed with fear and disgust and urgency. She was purposely making herself easy to read, maybe so he would know what she was thinking without her having to speak. She moved a hand to cover her mouth and stared at the wooden floors, her eyes shining. "Kagome...What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked slowly.

Kagome pushed herself to her feet and Inuyasha followed suit immediately after. She stared at the fire place and then darted her eyes to the stair case. Her mouth opened and her face painted itself in a mixture of emotions. Inuyasha glanced at the stair case and then back at Kagome. "There's no one here." He informed her calmly. She looked at him in confusion, but then she seemed more content. She nodded and looked around. "A man carried you here." Inuyasha said, staring at her. Kagome whipped her head to look at him and rubbed the backs of her hands nervously. "...What did he...do to you?" He asked, keeping his voice down. Kagome stared and frowned. "I'll tell you," She said. Inuyasha nodded; his body stiff in forbearance. "But we're getting out of here first." Her eyes flashed with determination and she went to the door. Inuyasha followed her quickly and watched her jerk open the door.

In one horrifying sound, she gasped. She stumbled back into his chest and made a grab for his sleeve for a mentally comforting defense. Inuyasha stared at the hand that clutched his sleeve in surprise and then turned his head to look at the doorway. He blinked and then curled his lip into a silent snarl. He narrowed his eyes and let the pounding of blood-lusting rocks flood his head. Kagome's panic flushed through him and he cracked the knuckles in his fingers. The need to destroy surged strongly in him and he thought back on the feeling he had before he killed the gang members. He knew that the feeling he had would grow into that in a matter of seconds.

"How pleasant that you're awake." A dark, sultry voice broke the silence.

* * *

**_Insane-san says: _**_-SIGH- Well, that was fun, I must say. Hard work. WHEW. Hahah. No, I didn't write it all the day I got back home. XD I finished more than half of it before I left._

_THEN I finished the rest the day I got home._

_LOL...'kay...So...Yes, review. REVIEW...And no cussing at me for another cliffy. -angsty frown- When I was reading my reviews one time, my mom saw that someone said the "F" word in shock and excitement and she was like, "Oh my gosh...!" And I said quietly, kind of looking away, "It's a review..." And she just stared at me... Yeah, pressure...not...good. XD_

_Inuyasha's dream sequence reminded me of Kagome's for some reason. PSH, those kids and their dreams...Pah...Who writes this stuff...?  
_

_Well, I'll see you guys at the next chapter. Hopefully you'll be able to stand the wait. I promise it won't be very long. Well, the wait won't be long, that is. The chapter will be. I plan to make it a WHOPPER. It should be good. I'll do by DARNDEST!_

_That's a word, right? -sweat- _

_See you later, my lovely readers. ;3_

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	14. Page Fourteen

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**_Insane-san says: _**_Readers, I have no idea what the fudge happened with this chapter. Okay, stop staring with a freaked out expression, it's creeping me out a little...Nothing so shocking happened. Just read this enormous A/N. AND BE AT EASE. -headdesk- _

_I was all amped up and ready to write, right? (Heh...write right...) ... -COUGH- So, I opened up a fresh new document the day after I updated, ready to go. And I could. Not. Write. I was like..."Hoho, this is...Odd." Seriously. I just didn't have any idea of where I was going to start off the next chapter. That made me very confused. VERY confused. For a long time I was terrified that I had lost some kind of spark of inspiration. I started getting desperate to see and feel things that would pick me back up. The scariest thing for me to think about is one day losing my creativity, imagination, and ability to be easily inspired. _

_So I spent about a **week** brainstorming the plot and fixing it in with the ending (yes, the end is worked out. It was the first thing I did for this fic if I haven't already said that), and I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do. It's getting harder to even out the events up to the ending. It's becoming difficult. But I'm at ease with what I want to do now. So I started writing the first paragraph. As it turned out, it didn't work for me. So on that same day, within those same minutes that I backspaced the entire start of this chapter, I sat; Perfectly still, in front of my computer, staring at the screen with a blank look on my face, for over half an hour. That's not an exaggeration._

_Finally, as if some other-worldly power had possessed me, I felt my hands move around the keyboard and find their place among the many letters. They began to click and move without me even thinking about it. And I finally had a begining for chapter fourteen, which I am happy with. Thank God..._

_I said this chapter was going to be long. I had hoped it would be, because I planned to cover many things. But it's under the average number of words by about 100 or so. -cowers away- Firstly, because I wanted to end it so I could be on to the next segment, as I was frustrated with this chapter. Secondly, because I hadn't updated in a long while and I wanted to get it out for you guys because I know so many of you were eagerly awaiting a new chapter. Thirdly, Christmas is coming up sooner than I keep anticipating and there's so much for me to do, and I'll be busier than usual and won't have a lot of time to write the next chapter after this one, so I wanted to get this one out so I can start the next one._

_-SIGH- That was a lot to type. I wish that this chapter had flowed as freely as this author's note. XD I hope you aren't too angry at the number of words I was making you read up there...And I hope you aren't too angry with my late update, shorter chapter than I said, and rather angsty words before this new chapter. o.o_

_I'll let you get at it, then. Thanks for reading this and sticking with me through this story. Please let me know what you thought of it...But not too much insult, please... x.x;  
_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page fourteen._

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"There's nothing to be scared of, Kagome. It's just a spider."

Kagome swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Daddy...But...It's so creepy and big...!" She squeaked with a grimace.

"Hahaha, it looks scary, doesn't it? And it's capable of harming you. But Kagome,"

Kagome moved her large, childish eyes away from the spider on the floor to meet her father.

"When something scares you and maybe wants to hurt you, you can't just sit still, afraid, and hope things turn out okay."

"I can't...?" She answered in quiet fascination, blinking.

"No, Kagome." He smiled. "Your life is important. You want to live, right?"

Kagome nodded quickly, her short black hair flying up and down.

"So, you have to fight for your life when it might be in danger. Don't depend on other people, and don't ever give up when something's scary, understand?"

"Yes, Daddy..." She breathed, staring at her hero. She clenched her small fists and turned her burning eyes to the spider.

She raised her small, bare foot and brought it down hard.

* * *

"BACK OFF!" Kagome screamed. The man let his guard down in surprise.

Kagome rushed forward and shoved past him. "SICKO!" She yelled. She grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and ran away as fast as she could. Her breathing went quickly through her clenched teeth and she tried to shake off the pain coming from her wounded thigh.

Inuyasha ran next to her at a quick, steady pace. Kagome glanced around and stared at him. His face was stunned, but she ignored it. "Is this the way you came?" She asked through breaths. Inuyasha seemed to blink something off and then examined where they were. He nodded, looking back at her. Kagome nodded in return.

"Are you gonna tell me what's goin' on, or what?" Inuyasha asked in quiet annoyance. Kagome pushed hair out of her face and glanced behind her to see if the man was following them. "When I woke up," She began, darting around a broken-down cottage. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and tried to collect her memories. "I was on that couch wrapped in a warm towel. But all my clothes were on and my legs were cold."

She slowed for a moment to wipe the blood away that was dripping from her thigh. The air was freezing cold and stung her wound. Her nose was numb to the icy wind and she wet her dry lips. "That guy was sitting on his stairs," She said in a quieter voice. "Just looking at me. So I sat up, but my head was really light...Then a few seconds later, the guy walked over to me and sat down in a chair next to the couch. He was holding something...It took me a few minutes to realize that it was a frame."

Inuyasha groaned loudly in agitation and glared at her. "Just get to the point!" He yelled. He kept eying Kagome's bleeding leg, and Kagome knew it was because of her wound, but the fact that the wound was rather far up her thigh made her extremely uncomfortable. She focused on what he had just yelled at her and glared back at him. "I am, but there's a lot to tell, okay?" She shouted. "So be quiet until I'm finished!" Inuyasha's mouth closed and his eyes burned with frustration. "As I was saying," Kagome stopped and placed a gentle hand on her burning thigh, once again trying to ignore Inuyasha's stares.

"He was holding a frame. There are all those stories about young girls who get abducted by evil guys and everything, so I was already really nervous and thinking that he might have drugged me." She was speaking quickly in her semi-panicked memories and tried to quiet herself. It didn't work very much. "But I really didn't know, so I started asking questions." She moved behind one of the small, diminished houses and leaned her back against it with a hand over her heart to catch her breath.

"'Who are you?' I said. And he sort of gave me this weird smile and didn't say anything. But then he said, 'I'd like to be your friend.'" Inuyasha was constantly checking the sides of the house to see if the man was there, but she knew he was listening. "Things just got weirder." She blurted out. She tried to understand why she was speaking so quickly; in a rush to tell him what had happened. Her cheeks reddened and she avoided looking at him in her inner-confusion. "I tried to stand up, but he put a cloth over my mouth really fast. Right away, I got light-headed and fell back onto the couch." Inuyasha turned to look at her, earning the opposite from Kagome. She turned away from him and pretended to be examining something on her shoe.

"You haven't seen any, but people do that in movies, so I was _seriously_ freaking out." Kagome raked her fingers through her hair at the memory. "He put the frame in front of my head and said something strange. It was like...'Once you've been cleaned I'll put you in my art gallery.'" She smeared the back of her hand over her forehead.

"He started walking up the stairs. And then I passed out. That's all I remember." She mumbled. "So when I woke up, I was scared. And you weren't there, and I didn't know what the heck had happened to you, and I thought for a second that you died, and so I started feeling really sad, but I pushed that away, and that weird guy was no where to be seen, and then you came and you were bleeding, and I was bandaged up obviously by the psycho guy, and then--"

Kagome looked at his eyes and saw the blank, un-readable expression on his face and felt a rush of embarrassment. She had been rambling even more than when she had started. Her heart pounded in her chest and her head grew hot. "S...Sorry." She whispered. She cleared her throat quietly and flicked her eyes around their surroundings. '_Way to go, Kagome, now he REALLY regrets coming to get you from that crazy house._'

"That guy is close." Inuyasha said in carelessness.

Kagome broke away from her embarrassment and looked at him. "Okay, lead the way." She commanded readily. "Don't say that like we're good friends." Inuyasha scoffed in annoyance. Kagome could tell he was bothered by something but she didn't inquire on it. She shrugged it off and picked up speed to follow him. They began running towards the direction Inuyasha said he had come from.

Inuyasha jumped over a fallen log and landed in a noticeably unsure way on the ground. Kagome stopped in confusion and a strange pulse of worry sped through her. She stopped breathing and stared.

Inuyasha took in a hissing breath of realization just as the ground gave out underneath him. "SON OF A--!" Kagome rushed forward as he tried to jump off of the ground and away from the trap. He had responded too late; there wasn't enough momentum to jump.

Inuyasha's hair flew upwards as he began falling. He spun around full-circle in the air to grab the earth on the edge of the trap. His claws sunk through and the dirt gave way beneath the weight of his hand. Kagome threw herself onto the hollow log and the wind was knocked out of her. Her pupils dilated from the shock and pain, but she ignored it and pushed herself forward to grab Inuyasha's hand. She had just managed to grab most of his fingers.

He was slipping quickly and Kagome couldn't see a bottom in the trap hole he was falling into. She tried to grab his hand with her other one, but the log rolled underneath her and was slowly bringing her towards the hole the more she tried. She planted the tips of her shoes in the dirt and clenched her teeth in a rush of strength. "Grab my hand...!" She commanded through her teeth.

The fingers of Inuyasha's free hand twitched and he narrowed his eyes in thought. Kagome stared in shock, her mouth opening. He wasn't bringing his hand up. "Inuyasha, please!" She shouted with a reasoning glare. "You'll fall!" His fingers were slowly slipping from her shaking hand and she tensed her grip as much as she could. A bead of sweat rolled down her neck and the weight of how heavy he felt came over her as it had when she had carried him home.

The cold of the winter air disappeared in the heat of her struggle. "I can't." Inuyasha said with a hint of a smirk. Kagome blinked sweat out of her eyes and tried to plant her feet into the ground better. "What do you mean, you _can't_? Why?" She asked loudly. Inuyasha remained silent as he stared at her in thought. "Tell me why!" She yelled in frustration.

"Because if you take my other hand, you'll fall, too." He said plainly. Kagome heard quiet footsteps behind her and her heart sped up. "For crying out loud..." She whispered. "It's because of the seal, isn't it?" She asked quietly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, ya think?" He scoffed. There was a pause; hesitation. Kagome stared at him in silence and tried desperately to keep her grip. "Listen," Inuyasha said suddenly, his voice snappish. "If there's a place to fall into, then there's a place to fall out. Get it? I can jump out easily."

Kagome only tightened her grip and stared down into the black pit. Inuyasha's claws began cutting her flesh at how tightly she was holding onto his fingers. His eyes winced into a glare at her blood that trickled down his wrist. "What if you can't get out?" She hissed. The footsteps increased in volume. Inuyasha narrowed an eye in insult to her question. "A_ man-made_ hole can't be _that_ deep. Just because you can't see a bottom doesn't mean it ain't there, so just let go already!" He snapped.

"You didn't just let _me_ go when I went down that waterfall!" She shouted resonantly. Inuyasha's ground his teeth. "SO?" He yelled. "_So_, I'm going to help _you_!" She said through her teeth as she struggled. Inuyasha bared his fangs in frustration. "Stupid!" He barked, his eyes flashing deep gold. "It was the curse, nothing else! Get it through your head!" His hand slipped more from hers and Kagome's heart leapt to her throat. "I can get out of here easily if you just let go and run! Worry about yourself, dammit!" He snapped.

Kagome barely had a hold on his fingertips. The blood from her hand dripped down onto his and made it almost impossible to keep her grip. Tears threatened to come to her eyes and she fought them back as much as her strength would allow. She didn't care if he was a royal jerk and murderer. She didn't want him to fall. She didn't want him to leave her alone with the man again. It was too scary without Inuyasha around; far too scary. And she admitted to herself openly that without him, she felt weak. She had become so used to having him around to protect her whenever there was a threat to her life that if he wasn't there, her paranoia levels would shoot up.

It hurt something in her emotions to admit that she felt weak without him. And he wouldn't care even if she told him, she knew that much, even if it was painful. He hated her and wanted her to die; he said so himself. Nothing he did gave her the slightest impression that he liked her even in the least bit. He wouldn't ever think she was nice, or a good person, or that she was pretty even for a human. She was plain and in many ways un-lady-like. She had made up her mind that she would try her best to treat him as a friend, and even release him from the seal. She wasn't going to give up there and let him drop down into that pit where she couldn't see.

"I swear..." She said in a shaky, low voice. "If you don't take my hand right now," Her arm trembled violently at what it was being put through, and tears spilled down over her cheeks. She glared at him in all of her anger and seriousness. "Then I'll jump down there, too." Something inside of Inuyasha's eyes seemed to flicker until his face became unreadable. Kagome ground her teeth together as she tried to carefully move backwards and lift him out of the pit. An arm wrapped around her waist from behind and the hairs shot up on her arms. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth in surprise. The arm jerked her backwards and her bloody hand slipped from Inuyasha's.

"Inuyasha!" She gasped. In an instant, Inuyasha grabbed dirt surrounding him and pushed his feet against the earth wall. He jumped back and forth of the sides of the trap quickly until he was out. He landed in front of Kagome in a single bolt.

Kagome's breath got stuck in her throat and her face turned a deep shade of red. "Told you so." Inuyasha said arrogantly. He crossed his arms with a smirk. Kagome's lips trembled in unspoken words and she blinked. Even though relief flushed through her, a sense of awkwardness overpowered it.

'_I got into that weird serious-mode only to have him prove me wrong, and jump right out of the trap like it was the easiest thing in the world?_' Inuyasha seemed to tower over her shrinking form and he raised an eyebrow. Kagome's face reddened more until it burned hotly and she stared. '_More over, that was...Kind of...' _She swallowed. '_...Cool._'

Inuyasha narrowed an eye and glanced around her face in well-masked confusion. Something was dawning on him slowly and he blinked. Her heart was making the strangest fluttering sound, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't a trick of the moonlight that her face was, he thought, red. It was an _impossible_ thought, but she almost looked as if she was...

"There are many more traps like that one...I set them up myself." The man said quietly, interrupting Inuyasha's thoughts. The sound of Kagome's heart jumping reached his ears and he glared in annoyance and the silent pulsing it was causing his head. Kagome jerked away from the man and began running. She glanced back at Inuyasha and he knew, of course, that she meant for him to follow her. But the man ran after her first. Inuyasha shoved all of his body weight into the man and knocked him right into the trap hole. The man gasped in shock as he fell and Inuyasha laughed out loud cruelly in his vengeance. He stuck his middle finger in the air before jumping after Kagome.

He caught up to Kagome within a few bounds. She most likely didn't see him push the man into the trap hole. After a few moments, Inuyasha realized that they were running next to each other instead of one of them leading. He chose not to question it. He had other things to question within the silence of his mind. He pushed aside her expression when he had jumped out of the hole and thought on other things. Somehow, very strangely, Kagome had grown loyal towards him. Maybe not a strong, un-breakable loyalty, but a loyalty none-the-less. It was bizarre; almost eerie.

How could she have become that way? The look of complete seriousness on her _crying_ face when she was trying to pull him from the trap hole had stunned him. It was so shocking that it had caused his mind to temporarily shut down. If he were to fall, then she was willing to fall with him. If he hadn't been able to get out, and if there had been something deadly at the bottom, that would mean her dying with him.

But at what price? What was her gain?

He searched her face through the corner of his eye as they ran. She was almost wincing and seemed to be in a deep argument with herself. They reached the rickety bridge and crossed it together. There was something oddly comforting about it, he realized. He had never had someone be loyal to him before. On many occasions he had thought that maybe she thought of him as her _friend_.

And sometimes it was the other way around, and he thought that maybe in some rare moments he could think of her as a friend figure. He had never spoken with someone long enough for them to get to know him even in the slightest bit, either. Other than knowing how cruel he could be, they'd end up knowing nothing but their downfall. Anyone else who had known of him would have let his hand go easily even if he could have gotten out or not.

Back when he had been shot and Kagome cared for him, she had wanted him to live then, too. That impossible sense of wanting him to live had grown. It had grown so much that she was willing to die with him; to throw herself down into what looked like a bottomless pit, and not even care. Somehow she had_ that _much loyalty towards him. But you couldn't have loyalty without likeness. It just didn't work. And if that was really the case...

'_Kagome likes me._' The thought came bluntly into his head. A burning emotion flooded his body and rushed to his head. His heart pounded in his ears and his face contorted strangely. His feet got twisted in a root of a tree and he fell forward onto his hands and knees. He stared at the ground in pure shock and silence for a moment before he heard Kagome laugh. It was obvious that he had startled her out of her inner-argument, but that didn't make him feel better. "You okay?" She asked loudly with a grin, walking over to him.

Inuyasha looked up at her. "What?" He yelled in a hoarse monotone. There was a thick pause. Kagome tilted her head and smiled with a raise of her eyebrows. "I asked if you were okay..." She said, staring. Inuyasha blinked at her and nodded in a stupor. Kagome stifled a laugh and shook her head. "Yeesh," She bent down and put a thin hand on his back, and the other to reach for his hand to help him up. Inuyasha's eyes widened slowly. "What's wrong with you?" She asked in a way that seemed like she was asking herself.

Inuyasha remained mostly dumbfounded in the time she helped him up to his feet. "I'm not sure if he's still following us, but we need to keep going. I want to avoid a fight if possible, okay?" She said, staring at his face. Inuyasha blinked. She moved her hand away from his back and stepped away. She stood in front of him with a smooth eyebrow raised at something. Inuyasha twitched his ears and didn't respond. For a split second he forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Kagome stared down at the hand that had held his to help him up, and cleared her throat. He was still holding it. Inuyasha looked down at his hand and swallowed a strange gurgle of a sound that almost succeeded in making its way out. He ripped his hand away from hers and moved himself away from her swiftly.

"I think the fall into that trap scared you a little more than you want to admit, because you're acting _pretty_ weird..." She turned around with a shake of her head. She said something under her breath, but Inuyasha couldn't hear it over the pounding of hot blood in his head. He walked after her unsurely and stared at the icy grass under his feet.

It really did all make sense the longer he thought about it. It wasn't the seal that was making her comfortable around him, it was just her. He knew that it was easy to intimidate anyone even under the seal, but not her. The realization of everything came over him quickly and his head spun. He was finally accepting everything that had gone on between them, as well as her strangeness towards him. Even if they were somehow still together after the curse was lifted, she would still act the same way. She wasn't afraid. She had just _willingly_ helped him up without fear of touching him. She wasn't intimidated. She didn't have a fear of him at all. Nothing he did scared her.

Even if he had never done anything wrong in his entire life and had lived differently, his appearance alone would make anyone frightened. Because in Kagome's time, there was no one even remotely like him. Yet she didn't care about that anymore. He didn't even think she had cared when he first came out of the book in the well house. Like he had been doing many times in those past few days, he thought of everything she had done for and with him.

Then the memory of what had happened a few minutes prior flooded his head and the image of Kagome's red face came up. She was staring at him in the weirdest way with an entirely red face. Plus, her heart beat was odd. He had trained himself to read people's emotions through their heart beat. He knew well what each one meant. But he had never in his life heard the one she was giving off. No one's pulse ever sounded like that around him. Everything pointed to the same conclusion.

She _liked_ him.

"Inuyasha!" She hissed, slamming them both back against a tree. Inuyasha gasped sharply at the impact of the tree and stared at the arm she spread across his chest. His face shone with a look of horror and he whipped his head to the right to stare at her. "Wha--" She cut him off immediately. "Shhh!" She hissed, her face close to his.

Inuyasha blinked quickly and kept his eyes fixed on the arm that was pressing hard against his chest. His face flushed oddly and the things he had been thinking came into his head abruptly. The back of her body was pressed mostly against his in an effort to keep them both behind the tree. Inuyasha's hands clenched to fists and he swallowed loudly. He felt much worse than when she had been examining his wounded head. She stared to her right and tried to keep her breathing quiet. She felt the need to hide from something, but what she was hiding from didn't occur to Inuyasha. His head was wrapped around other matters.

She glanced at him and nodded her head to the side. Inuyasha stared and tried to calm his rushing blood. He peered carefully over her and around the tree trunk. Her hair brushed against his neck and he sucked in short breath. He shook it off and stared over her. There was a car in a dirt road. It was the same kind of car that he had found his shirt in. He remembered how Kagome had been scared of the people in it. She wasn't scared then, however. It was the opposite. She was almost excited-looking.

"This is so lucky. A police car out here at this time of night?" She said in an exited whisper. "Wait here." She whispered. She slid her arm from his chest. She looked at him. "Inuyasha, your clothes are still pretty soaked from the river. Aren't you cold?" Inuyasha's heart leapt to his throat and his eyes twitched involuntarily. When he didn't give a reply, Kagome narrowed an eye and turned away. "I'll be back in a sec." With that, she parted from him and made her way to the car. Inuyasha was left alone to stand with his back at the tree in a daze of sickly emotions.

"HELP!" Kagome yelled out. Inuyasha's ears twitched at her cry, but the voice she used sounded fake to him. He glanced around the tree trunk, but his feet remained planted in the ground from Kagome's command.

A woman came out of the car and rushed forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy, miss!" Kagome faltered in front of the woman and pressed a hand over her chest and gasped. "What's the problem? How'd you get over here...?" The woman asked. Kagome looked like she was trying to hide her face by bending over in a feign of out-of-breath-ness. "A man..." She took a breath. "Was chasing me..." She bent over the car and began shaking slightly. "He was trying...To kill...me!" She sucked in air and shrank down onto the ground and hugged her knees.

"Which direction?" She asked urgently. Kagome reached a shaky arm up and pointed in the direction she had come from. The woman nodded and pulled something from her belt. She put her mouth to it and said, "We have possible attempted murder here about two miles from the nose of the waterfall. Suspect is said to be chasing the victim and is still at large; Possibly the Shadow Killer. Calling in for backup." She clipped it back into her belt. "Roger; sending out four armed cars." The little machine said.

Inuyasha stared at it warily for a moment before returning his attention to Kagome. She was hugging her knees to her chest with her face pressed against them. The woman opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a blanket. She handed it to Kagome with a few words of calm assurance, and Kagome draped it over herself and her head to better hide herself. "Are you injured, miss?" She asked. Kagome shook her head and sounded as if she were stifling sobs.

Inuyasha tried desperately to hold back a smirk. She was an actress when she had to be. Something like that was quite a useful trait. In desperate situations, it was hard for even him to mask his emotions with believable false ones. He knew that his temper gave out quickly and it was hard to keep his cool. He had struggled with acting for a very long time.

He wondered where she picked up her acting skills from, and when in her life she ever needed to use them. It was strange to think of her that way. In a few more seconds, the smirk had taken over his face and he examined her with interest, completely forgetting everything that had happened just minutes before.

"You can make yourself comfortable in the back seat until the other cars arrive, miss." She opened the car door and Kagome gratefully accepted her offer with a sniffle. She slid into the back seat and closed her eyes, bowing her head. "Do you need anything?" The woman asked attentively. Kagome shook her head with a mumble of something Inuyasha couldn't hear. The woman nodded and stepped away from the car. She seemed ever on her guard, as if she knew the danger that was around. She stared around the area severely. Her black hair was tied up neatly, and her reddish eyes were seemingly well-adapted to the dark of the night.

Fiteen minutes or more passed silently until the blaring of sirens echoed in the distance. They drew nearer and nearer until Inuyasha could see the glow of red lights on the cliffs above them. Somehow the cars managed to get down the cliffs from some un-seen path and soon ended up surrounding the car Kagome was in. Several people came out of the cars with big, black instruments that Inuyasha hadn't seen before. He observed them with caution and looked at Kagome to see how she was taking all of it.

She was staring right at him. Their eyes met and she appeared almost flustered for a moment at being found staring at him. The look faded and she smiled slightly with a nod of reassurance as if to tell him her plan was going accordingly. Inuyasha's pupils thinned and he choked on a bulge that appeared in his throat. So many times he had told himself that Kagome was just some foolish human whom he despised with every fiber of his being. But for the first time, he didn't think that anymore.

"Let's go, guys!" A man shouted. All of the officers departed into the woods, rushing by Inuyasha without notice. The black-haired woman remained behind with a male officer. They spoke to each other in quiet tones and spoke into their little machines every once in a while. Minutes passed with only those things happening. There were no sounds from the officers in the distance. They were quiet in their work and obviously knew what they were doing.

The officers in front of him however, seemed more like they were easy-going. Because in just a few minutes, Inuyasha sensed that their guard was completely lowered. He hadn't been watching their guard on purpose, though. He just took notice of it. It was something that came naturally to him. And, in the same moment he felt their guard drop, Kagome hissed his name. He shot his gaze to her direction and saw her getting slowly out of car door opposite from the other humans, nodding her head as a signal for him to follow. She didn't give a second glance to the officers who were supposed to be protecting her.

Inuyasha stared, his eyes wide with surprise and his heart slamming in his chest. '_Who...Is Kagome?_' He thought in shock.

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_**Insane-san says: **Woot, there goes another chapter. And man, I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop in such a way that I think my colon just cramped. It's...Such a weird feeling. o.o_

_Okay, in the next chapter, I plan to get into Kagome's background more. Thank all that is GOOD that I know exactly what the next chapter revolves around. I can't believe I let myself get so carried away that I had so many problems for this chapter. XD PHEW. Once again, sorry 'bout the late update. Oh and guess what? My hits reached over 10,000. :'D _

_Whether it separates everyone's separate IP addresses, or it just sees the same people visiting over and over, I don't really know for sure...But it's at somewhere around 10,500 now. That makes me happy. o.o -giggles like a squirrel-_

_I got a lot of death threats in my reviews. People like, "UPDATE SOON OR DIE." I was like, "Oh my God, okayyy. n.n;"_

_Anyway, I'll see you guys pretty soon. I hope you all have your holiday plans figured out. I sure don't. I have so much shopping to do. I'm totally gonna go bankrupt. x.x WHATEVER. IT'S ALL IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS SEASON, RIGHT? BLOW YOUR GOODS ON OTHER GOODS FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT EVEN WANT THE GOOD'S GOODS?!_

_What the heck ever, I should go. XD Reviews, please. Thank you guys so much for bein' here and stuff. -cries and wipes her snot on your shirt-_

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	15. Page Fifteen

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_**Insane-san says:** Hello...Yes, I am alive...What have I been doing? I don't really know. XD I guess the safest excuse would be to say I've been "taking a break." First it was the holidays. Then it was the stuff that came after. Then it was family stuff. Then more family stuff. Then I got really into all this other stuff that I loved...Gaiaonline for one, and school got in the way, too. So I put fanfiction on the back burner. But hey, life happens. Sorry it had to happen to me in the middle of a story! o.o LOL  
_

_I had basically had this entire chapter finished except for the last 1,000 words or so. I just never got around to rounding it off. _

_Anyway, to keep this A/N from being super long (even though I know loads of you missed me as WELL as my fic); I guess I'll just cut to the chase. Thanks for all your continuing reviews even though I've been late with this update. And thanks to those who decided to go back and review every single chapter. It REALLY means so much to me that you guys care enough to say what you think about this fic. I'm going to go back and print out all the past chapters and have someone look through them, and with a sharpie, underline all the spelling mistakes, etc. So when that happens, I'll replace the chapters with better versions and stuff. _

_Look forward to the uber-grammer-ness! Bwahahahahaha...Ehem. So excuse this chapter if there are errors. -shifty stare-  
_

_Thanks for your support. I love you guys. Enjoy this spankin' new chapter. Hopefully the next update will come quicker. Oh, and happy late Christmas, etc., etc. n.n  
_

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Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page fifteen._

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Sunlight sparkled down through gaps in the tree branches and touched Kagome warmly.

She smiled at them as she walked. The air was crisp and clear with early morning dew; It was a beautiful day.

But she was still without a map or a wallet.

She clasped her hands together and stretched her arms far back until the joints cracked faintly. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are _exactly_, would you." She said to her silent companion with careful slowness. Inuyasha glared around the area through his bangs and shook his head. Kagome blinked and lowered her arms as they kept on through the trees. She stared at him. Little by little Inuyasha's lips twitched back to reveal his fangs. He turned his head to face her and put his shoulders back. "What are you staring at?" He snapped.

Kagome moved a few steps away from him at his tone and winced. His quick change in demeanor was a little surprising. She shook it off. "I was..." She began slowly. He waited stiffly for a reply, glaring down at her all the while. Something about his expression was strangely skewed, but it wasn't clear in the bluish morning light. Kagome slapped herself mentally and gathered her senses. "Nothing," She sighed. "I was just--"

"Just what?" He snapped.

"I kind of asked a question and--"

"_AND_?"

"...And...You just shook your head."

"...WHAT? That's the stupidest thing I've heard from you! What's so amazing about shaking my head, huh? Keh!"

Kagome quickened her steps as they walked. Somehow she felt she should drop the subject before something got out of hand.

"It's not that it's _amazing_, but...You usually kind of snap an insult or something…Kind of like you're doing now." Her voice itched with annoyance. He was louder than he had been the past couple days. Inuyasha twitched an eyebrow and crossed his arms fiercely. "I'm perfectly within my own rights to shake my head whenever the hell I want to without any juice from you, got it?" With that yelled he turned his head away quickly and growled something Kagome couldn't catch with her ears.

'_Jeez, what's eating him lately?_' She muttered to herself. It was noticeable that he wasn't acting as usual. Throughout their days together it was easy to see that there was some change. Even if it was small, it was there. A small flush of relief spread through Kagome and she smiled faintly. Maybe things would end okay. Maybe he would be normal once the seal was broken. '_It could be possible that he thinks I'm his friend. Well...Something LIKE a friend, anyway. Everyone changes; maybe even Inuyasha, right?_' She urged herself on quietly.

She turned her head to look at Inuyasha. His arms were crossed in anger and he was glaring to the left into the trees. Kagome moved next to him and peered up at his face. In order to prove herself right or wrong in the field of whether or not he thought of her as something like a friend, she took a risk.

She slapped his back and said, "Don't sulk at my stupidity, Inuyasha. Everyone has their stupid moments," Inuyasha's body went rigid the instant she slapped his back. She continued quickly. "Just like you back there when you tripped and fell on your face, right?" Inuyasha bolted into a tree above them and made several leaps from her to another tree. The seal obviously prevented him from going much farther off, but he was a good distance away.

Kagome's face was blank and she scratched the side of her face slowly. "Well, that was...Strange." She muttered. '_Does that mean I was right, or wrong? Wrong, right?_' She blinked and shook her head at the confusing sentence she had uttered to herself. Grey clouds moved over the sun and darkened the forest.

A cold drop of water hit Kagome's wrist. She tilted her head back to look at the sky and stopped walking. "Rain?" She questioned the sky quietly. Another drop hit her face, and then her eye. She straightened herself up again. In a few moments, a light sheet of soft rain began to fall around them. Kagome shoved her hands into her skirt pockets and grumbled about her bad luck with a sour look on her face.

She had no map, no warm clothes, no blankets, no food, she hadn't slept in a bed in days, cops were after her, Inuyasha was ignoring her, and she had no idea where she was. '_Things were going so great up until that stupid waterfall._' She said to herself. The image and feeling of falling came to her in a memory and she winced. Then she remembered Inuyasha hugging her tightly and warning her to hold her breath. She swallowed deeply and rubbed a finger over the bridge of her reddening nose. She raised her eyes to the tree he was standing in far off and wondered what he was thinking.

'_He jumped away from me because he can't stand listening to my dumbness, and he can't stand not being able to do anything about it._' She sighed, her breath coming out in a white cloud. She hugged her arms around herself tightly and bowed her head. '_I guess I was right about being wrong, or however that went._' She tried to push it away, but she kept feeling a tug of sharp pain in her chest at the thought of Inuyasha hating her so much. She chewed at her lower lip and let herself sink a little deeper into the sad feeling.

The rain was growing colder by the second and was beginning to turn to ice on the fallen leaves. She pulled her jean jacket off of herself and shook it out in front of her. It was soaked and heavy from the chilled rain and was only succeeding in making her colder than she already was. She frowned at it and rolled it into a ball. "What's the point of wearing a jacket if it can't even keep you warm?" She whined herself angrily.

A light shone through the rain to her left and she turned her head towards it. She blinked water from her eyelashes and began climbing the small hill that stood to the side of her. Her feet squelched into the soggy, cold grass and her socks acted as sponges. She ignored the cold and narrowed her eyes to see through the grey sheet of rain.

'_Windows, cars...And roads? We're so close to civilization! All this time it felt like I was somewhere unknown, but there's life right over this hill!_' She thought, a smile stretching over her wet features. She whipped her head around to scan the trees for Inuyasha and let him know that she was making her descent.

She couldn't see him. "...Inuyasha?" She mumbled almost silently, staring all around the tree tops. "Inuyasha!" She called. She held her breath to double the silence as she listened for a response. When minutes passed and he hadn't come out when she said his name, worry pulsed through her body. A mental image of the black-haired man with a frame came into her head and she imagined him killing Inuyasha in brutal ways.

Her eyes snapped open at the thought and she clenched her fists tightly. She had managed to evade the cops while their guard was down. The only bad point of that was she didn't know if they had caught the man or not. As a soft panic pulsed through her, she slid down the little hill. She tripped on the way down and stumbled over her water-logged shoes right into a mud puddle.

The mud splashed over her legs and she gasped in disgust. Her so-called _leg warmers_ were no longer a striped light blue, but grey with patches of dark brown. She glared at them in spite. '_If you don't want the dress, then tear it apart and throw it away!_' An angry voice cut through her head. She narrowed her eyes at her muddy leg warms and bit back a dark memory that they brought about.

She tramped up the hill again. If Inuyasha didn't want to answer her, then fine. He could be immature on his own. She'd do whatever she pleased by herself. She rubbed rain away from her face and hugged her arms around her middle. Her white polo shirt was completely wet, not to mention fairly see-through. To go into a shop in that state wouldn't be the wisest idea, she realized.

When she reached the top of the hill, she unrolled her jean jacket and whipped it around to straighten it out. She pulled it behind her and began putting her arms into the sleeves. As she bent back to fix the jacket, her shoes slipped on the slick, wet grass with a sick-sounding squeak. Her legs stiffened to try and remain standing, but she was already falling away from the hill's surface. Her eyes were wide and transfixed on the dark grey sky. As if in slow-motion, she watched her dripping-wet hair fly up at the loss of safe gravity, and she felt her heart bounce in her chest to the sensation of falling. '_Inuyasha...?_' She called quietly in her mind. He wasn't there.

Her back slammed into the ground and her mouth opened with a gasping cry. Her body back-flipped and bounced backwards before her head slammed into a tree. The muffled sound of flapping clothing reached her ears as her eyelids began to close. Pain seared through her head and suddenly Inuyasha was above her, staring in shock and anger. Before his face was blurred completely, she saw one other emotion. '_Concern...?_' She asked herself in a whisper. She smiled faintly as her eyes closed.

'_Yeah, right. It isn't real. It's just the..._' Unconsciousness cut off her thoughts.

* * *

_"Well if you don't like it here anymore, then just leave! I'm more hurt than you are; more hurt than you could ever understand, do you hear me?" A young woman screamed._

_"If you don't want the dress, then tear it apart and throw it away!" She continued. "It was the best I could afford, and you can't even appreciate that?! I'm sick of hearing you constantly whining about what other kids have!" Tears spilled down her face and she buried her head in her arms. Kagome clenched her teeth and grabbed at the dainty white fabric that hung loosely on her thin body. "Fine," She shouted at her mother. "Then I _will_ leave!" She spun around and slammed through the front door. Rain exploded through the doorway and stung her skin and began soaking into her completely. She rushed out into the rain and stumbled and slipped through the puddles. _

_Lightning slashed across the sky and thunder cracked out and echoed all around her. The rain was thick and fast-paced and the wind shoved her around mercilessly. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell forward into a puddle. Mud enveloped her body and she spit dirt out of her mouth. She raised herself up onto her eleven-year-old arms and stared down into the mud puddle. The front of her dress was no longer white, but brown. _

_She pulled at the dress and shook with emotion. "It's like me." She spat to herself. "One second it's pretty and happy, and the next...!" She sat cross-legged in the puddle and let the rain have its way with her hair and skin. The sting of the rain was her only companion and she let the freezing chill smother her feelings of loneliness until she was numb with the cold. Her eyes stared blankly ahead of her and she didn't bother blinking away the water that trailed into them._

_"Kagome," Her mother yelled through the roar of the rain. "Kagome, please come inside! I'm sorry!" She cried. "I didn't mean it, please come back!" She sobbed pitifully. Kagome stood and turned around with a blank sigh. She narrowed her eyes through the rain and guessed her way back to the house. Just as she had begun walking, her face hit something. She backed up with a small gasp and looked up._

_A man stared down at her through golden eyes as if he understood every one of her deepest and most private thoughts. The rain seemed to pour past him and left him very much un-touched. His black robes flapped in the harsh wind and Kagome stared at him in bewilderment. Her pupils seemed to wince until they were small and she took careful note of his almost cruelly wise appearance. _

_He seemed to be someone like her, though he looked much more experienced in matters of the world. Like someone who had been through more than he cared to share with just anybody; Someone who knew how to live by himself despite the pain of loneliness.  
The longer she stared at his face, the more she felt like he was asking her a silent question. _

_"Do you know what you're doing?"_

_Kagome frowned and tried to stand up straight. Her mind reeled with thoughts about how she had no food or money or blankets or clothing, and how police men were looking for her, and she was probably suspected of murder she didn't commit. She was completely helpless, and the only thing she could think of was getting to an underground volcano far away from where she was. _

_"You know what you have to do to survive without help." His face seemed to say. Kagome's lips parted and she stared at him through the rain. "You've done it before." Kagome's eyes widened and she felt her fingers clench together in an absent-minded act of nervousness. She swallowed dryly and shook her head slowly. The white-haired man smirked and narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to be reluctant to go back on your word...You don't have to be a 'good girl' anymore. Besides,"  
_

_His arm reached out until a clawed hand was visible. He held it out in front of her and tilted his head slightly with the same smirk.  
Kagome felt her shoulders trembling lightly and the sounds of crashing rain around her vanished into silence._

_"Who's making you?" _

* * *

Kagome gave a sharp gasp and her eyes snapped open wide.

She sat up with another gasp.

Pain seared through her and she slammed a hand to her pulsing and aching head.

Inuyasha was at her right, his eye twitching at the surprise of her sudden awakening. She stared at him and closed her gasping mouth. "Did I...Pass out?" She asked breathlessly, gazing. Inuyasha narrowed an eye and nodded. Kagome gave a quick glance at her surroundings and found that she was in the exact same spot. It was still raining the same amount and the sky's color hadn't changed. "How long was I out?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Inuyasha stood up and stepped away casually. "Somewhere around thirty seconds." He said blatantly.

"Thirty...?" She whispered. She rubbed her hands over her head gently and glanced up at him. "Where were you?" She asked quietly, trying to catch her breath. Inuyasha winced back a sneer and turned away from her completely. "Wherever I wanted to be," He snapped. "I'm not a bodyguard, got it? Can't you take care of yourself without me having to be next to you constantly? Can't I walk off for five solid minutes without having to come runnin' to your rescue? What am I, a hero? I don't _think_ so." He said, his voice rising in volume with each sentence.

Kagome stared in surprise and tried her best to stand up. She leaned against a tree for support. "I tripped; it was an accident, okay? Sometimes accidents--"

"Shut up." He growled, glaring at her over his shoulder. "I don't wanna hear about your dumb excuses. Just--" He seemed to twist his features in disgust at something about her. "Stop the blood from coming out." He blurted. Kagome flushed in embarrassment and shock at his words and allowed her body to slump. She stared without uttering a single word.

Inuyasha flicked his eyes over her form when she gave no reply. "Didn't you hear me?" He asked impatiently. An image of the Inuyasha in her dream came to her mind and she narrowed her eyes in thought. '_That was the second dream I had with him in it._' She whispered in the safety of her mind. '_Why is it that I constantly have him in my head?_'

"What are you staring at?" He yelled. Something in his composure had snapped and he seemed strangely unnerved. Kagome sighed and wiped a small stream of blood away from her face. "It's not that much blood, and it's cold, so that means it isn't bleeding anymore. It's just mixing with the rain." She murmured. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and a glint of one of his fangs was visible through his sneering lips. He was about to speak, but Kagome instantly cut him off.

"There are some stores down there. I'm going to go see if they have a map." She turned and walked towards the little hill. She was much more careful in her ascent the next time over.

Inuyasha's face was flushed at the lack of respect she had shown him. His fists clenched and he glared at her as she made her way slowly up the lump of earth. "But you don't have any of that paper to trade for a map," He said snobbishly. He walked after her. "So it's useless!"

She didn't give any indication that she was listening to anything he was saying. Inuyasha jumped up the hill with ease. '_I need to shut up and keep my distance. What am I doing...?!_' He hissed to himself. He was next to her then. "You're not good with directions. You think they'll just let you look at it and memorize where you wanna go?" He asked loudly.

Kagome sighed and fanned a hand to the side of her as if to brush off an annoying fly. Inuyasha's mouth opened at the shocking gesture. She walked down the other side of the hill and made her way toward the lights that shone through the rain. "Hey...!" He yelled in a weakened voice. He jumped down after her.

His entire body pulsed with irritation at being ignored by her. It was a feeling that he decided he despised very much. But as to why he was making himself go through it, he had no idea. Though he told his legs to stop, they kept moving. When he told himself to shut up, he spoke.

He watched her pull her jacket around herself and button it up. Her eyes were set in a lazy stare ahead of her. Her thoughts and feelings were invisible to him, and she just looked tired. Or was she tired? Maybe it was a slothful determination. Her demeanor had changed completely from what she had looked like back with the police men. She had evaded them so easily once their guard was down.

The image was still hard to get over once he played it back in his head. It had made him seriously question what he knew about her. What did he know of her? When he thought about it, he knew nothing. He only knew of her personality. And _that_ even curved strangely at times. He felt like he had asked himself questions about her many times. Then he wondered if she had ever questioned him in her mind.

Suddenly he noticed that her lips were moving. She was muttering to herself. He shoved away the disgust his body was yelling to him at being so instantly enthralled in what she could be saying. He moved just a little closer to her and pressed his ears forward to listen. It was very hard to hear her whisperings through the constant splatter of the rain. But then he caught some; broken bits of words that were hard to sew together.

"Who's stopping me?...If...That's what it seems like...It was too long ago, I don't think I can...And when...No, I can't...Who's stopping me, he said. Who..."

His head itched in annoyance at the broken wording. He cursed his ears for being so completely useless. Rain stopped hitting him and he looked away from her. They were in front of a glass door with a sign flashing in bright red _open_. The door was completely fogged and wet with condensation and he couldn't see inside.

Kagome stood before the door hugging her jacket around her body tightly. She placed a careful hand on the small patch of blood on her head and sighed quietly. She wiped some of it away and let the rain wash it from her hand. Inuyasha watched her extended arm as the rain splashed away the red.

"Inuyasha," He looked away from her arm, immediately searching her eyes. The tone in which she spoke his name sounded as if she had used it as an endearment, and it caught him off-guard. She was staring at him with a clear expression. Her eyes scanned his face and a small crease formed in her brow. Upon seeing her examine him so carefully, he did the same to her. They observed one another's features in silence for what felt to Inuyasha like a very long time. He felt his hands tense into fists and his blood pulsed hotly in his head. There was a strange, calm closeness he felt between them as he searched her face.

"What?" His voice came suddenly in reply to her saying his name. She looked away finally and the gaze was broken. She squeezed bloody water from her hair and shook it out with her hand. "You...Already think I'm weird, right?" She asked without looking at him. His eyes widened for a moment, but he recovered from the question quickly.

"Yes," He said boldly. It was true that he thought she was weird; Very weird. She was unlike any human he had ever met, and he wanted to tell her so. Maybe even taunt her about it out of spite for what it did to him. But his voice shut itself off after his short reply.

"Okay, then." She said simply. Inuyasha narrowed an eye at her and felt his arms cross themselves. "_Okay_? What was the point of that question?" He growled. Kagome flickered a smile at him and opened the door to the small store. The door began to swing shut the moment she stepped inside, and he rushed forward to hold it open for himself. Kagome walked on inside without a glance back at him. He gave her back a spiteful sneer and shook off the strange hurt it caused that she didn't hold the door for him.

An old, skinny man stood behind the counter in the little store. A newspaper was spread out in front of his face, but his large eyes weren't moving over the words; they were just staring straight forward at the paper. Inuyasha gave the man a quick stare of suspicion before he returned his attention to Kagome. She gave the stocked up shelves a few casual looks. Her eyes caught something and she walked over to a small shelf full of paper booklets. "Are these free?" She asked. The old man shook his head. Kagome shrugged and continued to search them to find the one she wanted.

Inuyasha followed her. The wheels in his head spun in mad circles. Something about what was happening was strange. It wasn't right. She was too quiet. She was shielding her feelings too much, and he couldn't figure out why. Her thin fingers moved out towards a thick line of map booklets and she pulled one out without a sound. She flipped it open casually and seemed very interested in it.

For an instant, her eyes caught those of the store clerk's and she smiled with a nod of recognition. "It's pretty cold tonight," She said casually. The old man scratched his head with a bony finger. "Is it always this cold here?" She asked. The old man shrugged. "I suppose." He said in a hoarse voice.

"I'm not from around here." Kagome mumbled, scrunching her face. "Well, have a good time with that." The old man replied. After a moment, Kagome glanced around above the shelves. She sighed quietly and turned around to face the old man. "Excuse me, where's the restroom?" She asked lightly. "Oh," He swiveled his bulgy eyes around the room and blinked. "I dunno." Inuyasha flicked his eyes from her to the old man. Obviously, one of them was insane.

"Well, don't you work here?" Kagome asked. The old man tilted his head back and seemed to take a moment to himself to think. "Nope..." He answered finally. "Oh..." Kagome stared and began to search for the restroom herself. Inuyasha padded along behind her, watching to see what she would do. She flipped through the map booklet absent-mindedly and opened a door with the word "bathroom" on it. The door had barely shut behind her when the old man said, "Y' can't take stuff in there."

In a split second, Kagome was out of the bathroom, stuttering honest-sounding apologies. Then she stopped. "Wait, I thought you said you didn't work here?" The old man seemed to shake it off and continued staring at his news paper. "That's nonsense, I'm the manager!" Kagome slipped the map booklet back onto the shelf and tried to hide her wincing face. "He's nuts, let's get outta here." Inuyasha grumbled. Kagome moved some hair away from her face and sighed. She made her way to the exit and opened the door. Inuyasha went out first to get revenge on the fact that Kagome didn't hold the door for him the first time.

"Bye," She said over her shoulder to the man. "Take care now, you two." The old man said with a blank wave. Kagome did a double take on the man before the door swung shut behind her. She looked towards Inuyasha with a shocked face and put a hand over her mouth. "That was messed up." She said quietly. Inuyasha looked away with a shrug. "I would've gotten an umbrella too, but that would have been too hard." She said through a sigh. Inuyasha blinked with surprise at her and watched her descend the few steps in front of the store.

"Pardon...?" He narrowed an eye at her as she walked to the trees they came from. He ran next to her and stared at her face. "What do you mean?" He asked darkly. Kagome turned her head towards him to flash a quick smile before looking away again. As soon as they got into the trees, she unbuttoned her jean jacket. She moved her hand beneath it as if to catch something, and to his complete shock, the same map she had taken to the bathroom fell down into her hand.

The sick shock he felt swept over him and made his head feel light. He struggled to stay standing and whipped a finger out to point at the booklet. "You stole it...!" He tried to shout, but his voice choked. '_What a stupid thing to say! I've stolen loads of stuff before. It's not a big deal at all._' He scolded himself.

"Y-yeah...It was really cheap though, so...It's not like I stole too much!" She struggled for words. "But you put it back," Inuyasha said, staring at the map. "I saw you do it." Kagome nodded and scratched the back of her head. "It's...Kind of...Something I learned." She mumbled.

Her voice sounded high-pitched for some reason. It was like she was embarrassed about something and wanted to get it over with. "_Learned_?" Inuyasha echoed with a raise of his eyebrows. His heart was pounding in his head and he felt strangely overcome. How was it that Kagome could get weirder and weirder without ceasing to stun him over and over again?

"Well, I'd never actually tried it out before...But for something like that, I learned that you take two of the books; one inside the other. Then you open them so it's like you're just reading one," She said in a hurried voice. Inuyasha nodded slowly. "Then you take them into a corner where no one can see, or to the bathroom or something,"

She picked at a button on her jacket and looked around the area, obviously avoiding his shocked gaze. "_And_," She said slowly. She cleared her throat and rubbed rain water away from her eyes. "You put one in your pocket or something, and then you walk out with the second one." In an instant, she moved past him and began walking away.

Inuyasha's head spun and he turned around and rushed after her. "I get that," He yelled. "But how did you _learn_ it? And how did you do it so easily that even _I_ didn't know?" Kagome opened the booklet and seemed to bury herself in it. "I'll tell you later, okay?" She blurted out. Inuyasha growled and jumped into a puddle in front of her to block her path. "I wanna know _now_!" He shouted. Kagome blinked several times and then narrowed her eyes. "Well I don't _want_ to tell you now!" She shoved past him and began walking away once more. Inuyasha grabbed her hand harshly. "Hold on!" He yelled, pulling her around to face him.

Kagome stared with an almost aghast face at the sight of his hand clutching hers. Inuyasha looked at her burning red face and then at his hand and his face twisted with a kind of horror. "AUGH--!" He shoved her arm away and tripped backwards. "W-what are you looking at me like that for?" He yelled to switch the blame, pointing an accusing finger at her red face. The word "blush" came to his mind, but he threw it away immediately; It was too terrifying to dwell on. "_What_?" She shrieked. "I should be asking _you_ that!" She whipped out a finger and pointed at him. "You grab my hand and then look like--_that_?" She choked, staring.

Inuyasha swallowed dryly and tried his best to sneer. "What are you talking about?" His words bounced off of themselves quickly. Kagome continued to point. "Your face is all--!" Inuyasha raised his chin and ground his teeth. He slapped a hand over part of his face. An almost boiling heat seeped through his hand and he removed it with a gasp. He stared at his hand with bulging-wide eyes and felt his mouth open.

"You're blushing like crazy!" Kagome hissed through her own shock. Inuyasha almost jumped at her choice of words. "No! _You_ are!" Kagome rubbed her fists over her face so harshly, Inuyasha thought for a moment that she was trying to rip her own flesh off. When she moved her hands, her face was three times redder. But the color was fading out slowly. "Well, you didn't have to grab my hand like that." She snapped.

"So you're blaming _me_?" Inuyasha snapped back, though he didn't quite fully understand what they were blaming each other for. "If you had just told me where you learned it--" Kagome cut him off immediately. "I didn't want to, okay?" She shoved the map into her pocket and began straightening out her hair with her fingers. Inuyasha crossed his arms into his sleeves and let the rain trickle over his face. He watched her frustrated face as she raked her fingers through her raven hair. Something in his features softened and he let his face relax.

"As soon as we find some place dry to sit," She said quietly, standing up straight. "I'll tell you, okay?" She looked over at him through her wet bangs. They stared at each other through the rain and Inuyasha felt himself holding back a reply. Something in him liked to just stand there and stare at her face. "Fine," He replied snobbishly. Kagome smiled and pulled the map out of her pocket. She turned around and opened it up as she walked away. Inuyasha felt his heart in his throat and he tried to swallow it down. He crossed his arms tighter in his sleeves and walked after her. He stopped once he was next to her and walked beside her as close as he dared.

"Do you even know how to read that thing?" He asked in a belittling tone. Kagome let a breath out through her nose and nodded. "And if I don't, I'll just ask you." She shrugged. Inuyasha glared away from her, not bothering with a retort, and began his silent search of finding a dry place to sit.

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **Oh man. Good times, huh? It's gonna be really crazy to get really into Kagome's past. I got it all worked out though, rest assured. ;3 _

_So I guess that concludes this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed...I'll get around to replying to your reviews again after this. Oh, and I big thank you to _Resinous Commiphora_ (when you get around to this chapter) for being so extra-thrifty with you reviews. n.n_

_Well, I guess this is good-bye until next time, my fluffies...Look forward to the next chapter. And remember to review! ;D Kisses._

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	16. Page Sixteen

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **Wee, another chapterrr! We can dance in happy circles of insomnia now! n.n -does so-_

_This chapter was a lot of fun to write, 'cause I've been meaning to do this for a while now...Hopefully it's interesting and you're not like...Planning out my death or anything. o.o -ehem- Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. It was pretty easy to write once I had the time and concentration to really write it. XD Please ignore any errors you may find...I did my best to proof-read...Hopefully I caught all of the "yours" that were turned into "yous" somehow. I think I got all the typos. Anyway...  
_

_I'll let you get to it, then. Have funnnn. n.n  
_

* * *

Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page sixteen._

* * *

"Her blood pressure's dropping _fast_."

The squeaky wheels of a hospital bed echoed through the white walls.

"Can we get this oxygen, or not? Stop playing around!" Someone snapped.

A pair of reddish eyes shined with worry as they watched the hospital bed surrounded by doctors and nurses disappear around a corner. "Excuse me," A quiet voice called. "Are you...Ms. Yura?" The voice pried further. Yura swallowed dryly and turned around to face the small nurse. "Yes," She replied with a hint of a bow. It was obvious that her mind was elsewhere.

"You're Mrs. Higurashi's sister-in-law, correct?" Yura nodded. "And you're also the one who came here escorted by those police officers...?" She pointed a wary finger to a handful of policemen standing off in a corner. They were eyeing Yura and speaking quickly to each other in hushed voices.

Yura nodded again. "That's right." She answered. The squatty nurse scribbled something down on her clipboard. Yura's insides churned with unease. Everything had happened so fast; too fast. The last few minutes she had spent with Kagome kept echoing over and over again in her memories, even though it had been many days since then. If only she had spent just a little bit more time with Kagome before she had left...

"Ms. Yura?" Yura snapped out of her darkened thoughts. "Yes?" She put a fist over her mouth and cleared her throat. The nurse tapped her pen to something written on her clipboard and said, "Do you want big words, or small words?" Yura blinked slowly, her face passive in thoughts somewhere far away. "Excuse me...?" She said quietly.

The nurse wet her lips, obviously a little bewildered, and continued. "Well, basically your sister-in-law is having some serious problems with stress. She came in here with a very irregular heart. Judging by the police escorts, I guess something happened recently to bring all this stress into her life...?"

Yura glanced with a spark of anger in her eyes at the policemen. The collar of her black trench coat came up to hide her mouth as she pursed her red lips. "Yes," She answered coolly. "That's right." The nurse stood still and was obviously waiting for more information. Yura looked at the nurse through the corner of her eye.

"What happened to bring the stress to her life? There was a murder in our area recently," The nurse's eyes became wide and startled. "A trail of blood led to our front door. My niece, her daughter, went missing shortly after the police came. We haven't seen her since then. No one seems to be able to find her, and then the police tell us that my sister-in-law is a suspect in the murder, along with two beaten up boys they found who were more than obviously linked with the case."

The nurse swallowed and blinked rapidly. She seemed a bit startled at first, but shook it off nicely and cleared her throat. "Well then, I'll be sure to take that into account. Your sister-in-law will most likely recover quickly..." Her voice trailed off, and she bustled away from Yura down the hall. Yura watched her go with disinterest and sighed almost silently. The invisible weight on her chest grew heavier with each dark and worried thought.

'_Kagome..._' She whispered to herself. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she stared out of a foggy hospital window. The sun made her squint.

'_Where are you?_'

* * *

"It wasn't me, I _swear_!" A boy shouted.

He promptly got his head shoved into a toilet bowl in answer to his statement.

His head was pulled out of the water and he gasped with a sick shudder of disgust.

"Oh _yeah_?" A boy only a few years older drawled in a mocking-compassionate voice. He whipped his black braid over his shoulder and grinned sharply to his brother. "He says he didn't do it, Manten. So then, who do you think stole our beers?" Manten released a deep, eerie giggle and held the boy's head over the toilet by firmly gripping his hair. "Well, Hiten, I don't know." His voice rumbled. "I _think _it was the guy that's been talking about our secret hide-out and the beer in our cooler for _days_. And we found some beer caps in his locker too, didn't we, brother?"

Hiten snickered and moved his head beside the dripping-wet face of their victim. "That we did. Who was that again...? I can't seem to remember his name..." He said in a pouty voice. The boy clenched his teeth and squinted his brown eyes. "I told you, I didn't take your--!" His head was shoved into the toilet again. When his head was brought out of the water, the boy was trembling with cold, fear, and frustration.

"Hey Manten," Manten grinned. "Yes, Hiten?" He replied. Hiten's red eyes flashed and he glowered. He was losing his spark of entertainment. "I think I've remembered his name now." Manten smirked and leaned over the door of the stall. "Oh, really?" He asked in a quirky voice. "Yes, I have." Hiten answered.

He moved his head down to the boy's pale and freckled face. "His name was _Kohaku_."

Manten let a laugh erupt from his chest and he punched the wall of the stall. "That's right, brother, that's right!" Kohaku tried to remove the rope that bound his wrists and was immediately punished for it by having his head plunged into the toilet again. Hiten ripped him back out by his tied-up hair.

Kohaku spit water into Hiten's face. "I've been talking about your cooler around school, sure!" He yelled. Hiten's eyes glowed with smoldering anger and he shook the water from his face. "But those old beer caps were from my dad," Kohaku spat. "And I didn't take your crummy--"

"SHUT UP!" Hiten roared. "It's obvious that you took them! And if _you _didn't take them, then who did?!"

Someone else in the bathroom cleared their throat right behind the three boys. Hiten and Manten whipped around with their jaws dropped. "I believe the answer to that is _me_, my good lad." Hiten stood up and released Kohaku's head, letting it slam against the toilet bowl. "Mr. Principle..." Hiten said quietly. Kohaku hissed with pain and a crimson trickle of blood trailed down the side of his head.

"Thanks to this boy constantly talking about your _beers_," The principle began stiffly, staring the two brothers down. "I finally took it into consideration that you two _did_ have illegal alcohol on school grounds. Then, I took the bottles from your cooler myself and confiscated them." He finished.

Hiten, ever the daring one, crossed his arms and muttered, "Probably for yourself." That was evidently the wrong thing to say at the time. The principle's face contorted and his eyes lit up with rage. Hiten and Manten paled and stood up straight. "Not only did you have an illegal substance on MY school grounds," His voice boomed. "You also came and harassed a fellow student! This behavior is absolutely hideous! And then you sass me?!" Hiten and Manten were shrinking visibly with each loud scolding.

Their principle seethed through his nose for a few silent moments before clearing his throat and composing himself. "I came seeking you two for a few reasons. Follow me to my office." Hiten and Manten glanced at each other and grimaced. "Yes, sir." They said in unison.

Kohaku leaned against the stall for support to get onto his feet. The ropes were chaffing his wrists and he bit his lower lip to take his mind away from his pathetic situation. The sound of the principle opening his cell phone echoed through the stalls. After a few seconds, the principle was speaking with someone. "Yes, I need a janitor and a nurse in the second-floor men's room immediately...Yes, I have them...Well, if all goes accordingly, then yes." He gave a gruff noise of confirmation and then closed his cell.

"You two," He said, glaring. "Follow me. _Now_." They narrowed their eyes in defeat. "And you," The principle said, staring at Kohaku. His voice had softened. "A nurse will be here shortly to escort you to the infirmary. Rest assured you'll never have to go through an experience like this again under my authority." He said calmly. Kohaku's lips winced into a vague scowl. He had heard that line before. Even so, he nodded and turned his back on them.

The principle spun around on his heel and made his way towards the door. Hiten and Manten lagged behind, glaring at Kohaku over their shoulders. A nurse and a janitor rushed past them as soon as they passed through the door of the bathroom.

"That kid is so _spoiled_," Hiten grumbled under his breath. "Just because he doesn't have a family." Manten tried to keep the angry tremblings of his body to a minimum. He nodded stiffly in agreement with his older brother. "Stupid freshman." He growled. Hiten nodded. "We don't got any family either and you don't see people giving a crap about us, ah?" He said. Manten clenched his large fists and glared daggers into the principle's stiff back.

"Here we are, sirs." The principle said, opening the door to his office. He let them enter first. The scent of wood cleaner entered their noses and they snorted at the same time in response. When they looked up, the calculating eyes of two men caught their attention. But they weren't just regular men.

They looked important.

"Have a seat, gentlemen." The principle said in an almost kind voice. That only put the two brothers on edge more. They took a seat in the two chairs in front of the desk and stared up at the men. The principle sat in his chair and folded his hands on his lap. "Well then, shall we get started?" He asked. Hiten leaned back in the chair and tried his best to look cocky. Manten saw his brother and followed suit.

"After you," The principle said, nodding to the colder-looking man on their left. He stepped forward and pulled out his badge. "I'm Special Agent Renkotsu from the FBI. And that's my partner, Agent Suikotsu." He stated. Hiten had no interest in his badge and casually looked away. Manten did the same. "Yeah?" Hiten said with boredom in his voice. Renkotsu smirked indignantly at Hiten's lack of respect, but seemed to brush it off. He slipped his badge back into his coat. "Me and my partner are here to ask you some questions." Hiten glared at the man and crossed his arms over his chest. "About--"

"About what?" Renkotsu finished for him. Hiten narrowed his eyes. "About a murder not too far from here." Hiten's jaw dropped and he stared. Manten swallowed loudly and glanced at his brother for guidance. "Don't worry fellahs, you're not suspects." Renkotsu said with a wave of his hand. "But you were involved with one of the key suspects. You were the last people seen with said person on school grounds before that incident."

Hiten's stomach tightened and his hands flinched. He hadn't seen his leader in a while...Could it be that he was involved with the case? He did say he was going away for a while...But that was because of a trip to his grandparent's place in the mountains. Their leader didn't lie; ever. He was honorable and always told the truth. But if he was a suspect somehow, Hiten resolved not to say a word.

With a new respect for his situation, Hiten raised his eyebrows and drummed his fingers on his crossed arm. "How so..._Sir_?" He asked innocently. Renkotsu grinned at the question. "It looks like you have an idea of who I'm talking about." He said slowly. A spark lit Hiten's eyes and he instantly masked his emotions. "Not in the slightest." He said coolly. Manten fidgeted in his chair; he didn't like sitting in one place for too long. "Who?" Manten whined, eager to get it all over with.

Renkotsu flickered his gaze over the two's faces and decided to get to the point. "A Miss Kagome Higurashi," He said finally.

Hiten and Manten seemed to click off for a moment at the name. Then they both sat up and stared. Their eyes clearly showed shock. Renkotsu hid his disappointment. Eyes like that didn't show anything hidden like they were covering for her. They were stunned that he had the girl as a suspect for a murder. Seeing that, it didn't seem likely that the girl could kill. Renkotsu straightened up and continued.

"I see that brought you two back to reality..." He said under his breath, staring at them. "_Her_?" Hiten yelled in shock. "Are there two Kagomes in this school...?" He asked uncertainly. Renkotsu bit back a frown. Maybe his trip to the school had been pointless; a waste of time. It seemed like it.

"No, there's only one." Renkotsu said firmly. "Anyway, it was one of the worst murders I've seen as an FBI agent. It was a _truly_ horrific scene. I won't get into detail as you're just highschool boys, but let me tell you..." He said gravely. Hiten and Manten were leaning out of their chairs, staring. "It was...Messy." The two brothers whipped their heads around to stare at one another. There was silence. Then Renkotsu saw that they were whispering to each other. He narrowed an eye and focused his ears to try and hear their conversation.

"...For that. It was your fault, anyway." Manten hissed. Hiten glared. "No, Leader said we should give her space...Her to join right then, remember?" Manten stuck out his lower lip and narrowed his eyes. Renkotsu heaved a sigh at the broken wording and cleared his throat. "Something you want to share, boys?" He asked. Hiten darted a hating look at the agent and then nodded at something his brother said. They both turned around.

"Yeah, we knew her for a while. Haven't seen her recently, though. She got expelled. We weren't exactly tight friends, but we knew her, yeah." Hiten said, folding his hands in a mock of his principle's position. Manten nodded in confirmation and grinned. "She was the best." He blurted out. Hiten bit back a grin the best he could, but couldn't help but nod along in agreement with his brother.

Renkotsu raised an eyebrow at their strange reactions. "So you two loved her?" He asked, staring blankly.

The two brother's faces turned a bright shade of red and their eyes bulged. "NO!" They screeched, immediately switching to the defensive. Renkotsu glanced at the principle's confused face, and then at his partner's amused one. He didn't know where it would go from there. It looked like he was wasting his time after all.

"Do you think Higurashi could kill anybody?" He asked, now wanting to rush things along. Hiten crossed his arms and avoided Renkotsu's gaze. He was trying to shake the redness out of his face. "Well, anyone_ could_ kill anybody..." Hiten said, darting around the question with ease. Renkotsu lowered his eyebrows. "Let me rephrase that," He said. "Do you think Higurashi _would_ kill someone?" Hiten exchanged looks with his brother.

"I didn't know her that well," He said simply. "So I don't think I could answer that for real." Renkotsu nodded. "I see...But let's just say from what you _did_ know of her," He took a step closer. "From what you saw of her, do you think she had it in her to murder a group of teen-aged gang members?" Hiten and Manten were startled at the question. It looked like they thought just a single person had been murdered.

"No way," Hiten said quickly with sureness. "She was nice...To us..." His voice faded and he glared away from them. Renkotsu paused and rubbed his chin. Manten was quick to interrupt his thoughts. "Yeah, and we're basically gang members ourselves...!" Hiten shot a glare at him. Renkotsu nodded. "Yes, but if you were to attack her, don't you think her feelings towards you could change?" Hiten and Manten were silent.

"Like I said," Hiten mumbled. "We didn't know her _extremely_ well. But I don't think she's the killing type. And I've seen killing types. I know a few..." Renkotsu closed his eyes and sighed. He was about to speak when Manten spoke first. "There was that one time that she punched that kid so fast and hard that no one even saw her fist, though." He said. There was a thick pause and Hiten's fingers curled into a fist. He knew Manten didn't realize that he may have ruined a good chance for Kagome to get off the suspect list.

"Ah, I was told that she punched a young man. I didn't look into how serious it was...I heard the parents dropped charges. You say she punched him so fast no one...Saw her first...?" He asked lightly. Manten nodded.

"It was like she didn't even move!" He said excitedly. "That's what made us first want to talk to her. Because she had a lot of skill. But she was pretty scared all the time about certain stuff, especially when we started talking about the kid she sent to the hospital." Manten laughed. Hiten pressed a hand over his face. To let him continue might be disastrous, but to cut him off would look very suspicious. He couldn't win either way.

Renkotsu stepped forward with a rising interest. "Really? How about telling me some of her behaviors and some of your experiences with her...?" He asked in a calculating voice. Manten nodded eagerly. For whatever reason, it seemed he enjoyed talking about Kagome. "She was _really_ fun. One time, she started to pretend like she was fighting with someone over a bottle of soda, only no one was there." He said through a giggling voice. "And it looked really real, like she was seriously fighting someone. It was great!" He laughed.

Hiten peeked through his fingers at Manten and shook his head. At this rate, the FBI agents would think Kagome was completely insane.

But when he thought about it, she _had_ acted pretty insane...

Renkotsu's eyes sparked with interest. "Yes, and?" He urged quietly. Manten continued all too happily. "Then one day she told us a story--" He had to stop to release some pent-up laughter. "About how there was some demon guy following her and she had...Um...Um..." Hiten's eyes were widening slowly as something dawned on him. "...Released him from a book." He finished for Manten. Manten nodded quickly. "Yep, yep," Hiten began straightening up in his chair. "And that he was evil or something, but she could tell him what to do 'cause of a _walrus_."

There was a pause.

"Do you perhaps mean _seal_...?" Renkotsu asked quietly. Manten tilted his head in thought, and then nodded. "So then she said that he had to protect her from danger and stuff even though he wanted to kill her, 'cause he was evil and everything," He bubbled. "But no one can see him but her." He continued. "And that he...He..." He slapped a hand over his snorting nose. '_At least _someone_ finds this amusing..._' Renkotsu thought blatantly.

"That _he_ was the one that punched that kid out!" He burst out laughing. Hiten was staring horrified at the floor. Impossible thoughts were rushing through his mind. How could he have let it all just slip by him? He had heard the words coming out of Kagome's mouth at the time, but it all just sounded so stupid... Hearing Manten say it after everything had happened, he wasn't so sure it was just a joke. His eyes were wide and blank in his thoughts and he rubbed his fingers over his forehead.

Renkotsu stared seriously at his partner in silence. "Is that all you know?" He asked. "Yep," Manten answered. Renkotsu was silent.

"The girls Higurashi hung out with," Renkotsu said slowly, still staring at his partner. "Which class are they in right now?" Hiten tried to speak, but his throat had closed up. He swallowed and continued staring at the floor. The only thing he wanted to do was call up his leader and talk with him. Then he remembered that his leader said he believed Kagome at that time; _truly _believed her. He should have believed her right then. His head swayed with confusion and he put a hand over his eyes.

"They're in math class right now." Manten said. "I've seen 'em a lot. They're no fun, though." He complained. Renkotsu looked at him and nodded. "Well, thank you for all of your help, boys. If we need any information, we'll be sure to contact you." He nodded his head to his partner and left the room with a wave. As soon as the door closed, Hiten jumped to his feet.

"Ah-ah-ah," The principle said, wagging his finger. "Not so fast. Now there's a _new_ matter to discuss about beer...And bullying."

Hiten opened his lips to show his teeth clenched in anger, and narrowed his eyes to glowing slits. The sooner he could get out, the better. He'd sit there without any cocky remarks, retorts, or gestures. He'd be silent and accept his punishment quickly. He needed to swallow his arrogance and have patience. He needed to let his brother know to be quiet and accept it, as well. He needed to be a man for once. He needed to get out of there quickly. He needed to ask someone questions. He needed to breathe.

He needed a phone to call Koga.

* * *

"There now, that should fix ya up real nice." The nurse cooed.

Kohaku avoided her motherly gaze and pulled the covers up to his nose. "Th...Thanks." He murmured, swallowing the last of his pain killer. The nurse let out a giggle and closed the curtains around the infirmary bed. When he heard her footsteps fade away, he let out a sigh of relief. He hated being babied. If the principle hadn't set it up, Kohaku would have just rinsed his head off in the sink, wiped off his bloody head with some toilet paper, and gone on with his day.

But now he had to stay in bed for the rest of the school day.

'_Well,_' He thought with half-lidded eyes. '_It's not like I had anything to look forward to._' He looked up at the stark-white ceiling and let his mind wander over daydreams of far-away countries and foreign people with smiling faces. He let his eyes close and his breathing evened out. But his peaceful thoughts were split in half by the taunting voices and grins of his two most hated enemies, Hiten and Manten.

He wrinkled his nose and opened his eyes back up. They picked on him because he was an orphan and a freshman. But he wouldn't let them get the best of him; ever. It was in his blood to fight back, even though sometimes it scared him. He ground his teeth at the memory of how weak he was against them when they cornered him and dragged him to the bathroom.

The sound of the nurse's phone ringing made him jolt. He heard the nurse run to the phone and pick it up. "Hello?" She said cheerfully. Kohaku closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He wriggled into the mattress in an effort to find a more comfortable position. He would just ignore all the sounds around him...

"_Oooh_, but I was sure they had somethin' ta do with it!" The nurse said in a shocked voice, drumming her manicured nails on her desk. "Ya don't say? Well, the FBI should have some news on her whereabouts by now, eh? I saw her not too long before she went off, and she wasn't feelin' so good then when I saw her." Kohaku opened his eyes. The nurse's voice and his own interest kept him from sleeping. Who were they talking about...?

"What I mean is, she's only sixteen, a girl, and she wasn't feelin' too good only a couple days before she ran off. I'm saying that she couldn't have gotten too far from what I've just said about that there." Kohaku felt his heart beating faster than regular. A girl from their school had run away? She was older than him by a couple of years. A flash of his sister's face entered his head and he narrowed his eyes. He shook it off and listened.

"Well now, listen here," She said, quieting her voice. "I've known that girl since she was just a newbie to this school; thirteen-years-old...Yep, she did come to us early. She was a smart girl, _real_ smart. But she wasn't the sunniest flower in the pot at the time. She was always a little grouchy-lookin'." She sighed. "Yeah, yeah, she did get over it. That's what I'm gettin' at. That girl was no cruel murderer in my eyes, eh?" Kohaku sat up in the bed slowly. He pulled the covers off of his chest and held them in his fists loosely.

"Especially after a couple years passed and she changed. But no one sees ta ask me anything about her, y'know. Those little FBI men just go about asking her friends about her. But _I'm_ the one the kids come to with physical complaints. They should be askin' me some stuff." She said in an insulted manner.

Kohaku rubbed his fingers over the gauze on his head. '_This is..._' He swallowed as his mind raced with all the new information it had received. '_...Weird._' He moved the curtain just slightly so that he could see the nurse.

"_Sure_ she told me what was wrong with her! What if they wanted to know if she was mentally ill? I coulda told them...No, she wasn't. But she was complainin' about her head that day...Mhm...Mhmmm..." The nurse gave a quiet sigh and nodded. "Yeah, I'll talk to ya later then, hon. Take care now." With that, she put the phone back on its hook and walked into the infirmary bathroom.

Once the door was shut and locked, Kohaku jumped from the bed and closed the curtains perfectly so it would look like he had never left. His heart was racing and he opened the door to the infirmary. Being extra careful not to make too much noise, he closed the door behind him. The halls were dead silent. Everyone was in class. Except him, of course.

And maybe those two fools Hiten and Manten.

He grimaced at the thought of running into the two in the halls. Hopefully they were still with the Principle. Brushing that aside, he focused on what was at hand. He needed to find out who the girl was. He wanted to know everything that had happened. How was it that it was such a drastic thing, and he didn't even know about it? Maybe they were keeping it a secret from the whole school...

Whatever the case was, he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

'_But how am I going to just ask people about it? What if no one knows and the school is keeping it a secret like I thought?_' He walked through the halls quickly and absentmindedly. '_Her friends must know something...If the girl had gone missing, then they'd probably be worried and ask about her. That means I should find her friends._' He thought.

'_...Only...How do I find out who her friends are...?_' He frowned and turned a corner. '_If--_' He looked up and instantly collided with someone. Kohaku's injured head hit the head of the person in front of him and he let out a short cry of pain. He was sent onto his rear-end from the impact. So was the person he had collided with.

"_OW_!" The girl whined loudly. Kohaku pressed a gentle hand over his gauze pad and prayed that the bleeding hadn't started up again from his collision. He met the eyes of the girl in front of him and tried to voice his apology. "Can't you watch where you're going?!" The girl sobbed. Her eyes were very red like she had already been crying. Kohaku swallowed and put a hand out to help her up. Then he realized that he couldn't help her up if he was still on the ground, too.

"Ohmygosh! Ayumi!" Someone squeaked. To Kohaku's shock, two other girls came running forward to aid the crying one. "Are you okay?" One asked in a deeply sympathetic voice. She grabbed the girl's arms and pulled her up into a hug. The girl was shaking harshly with sobs. Kohaku scrambled to his feet and swallowed. "S-Sorry," He said. The two girls looked him over. Their faces were grave in their examination, but it looked like that had been that way before he came along.

"Is there something...I could do?" He asked, trying to make up for his foolishness. He knew it was the sick truth when people said he was always screwing things up. The tallest girl with a headband seemed to look a little less sad at his offer. "I don't think there's anything you could do." She said just above a whisper. "It's okay, Ayumi." The other girl said, smoothing out the crying girl's hair. The crying suddenly halted and the girl whipped her head around.

"How can you SAY that?!" She cried. "How can you stand there with a straight face and--and--" She sobbed pitifully. "And not feel anything?" She buried her face in friend's shoulder and cried. Kohaku realized that he was standing as straight and as stiff as a board of plywood. But he knew he couldn't help it. He wasn't used to talking to girls that were older than him, let alone _crying_ ones.

After a few more moments, the girl's crying quieted. She pushed herself away from her friend and pulled a handkerchief from her skirt pocket. She wiped her face and blew her nose in it. She turned to face Kohaku. "Sorry for shouting at you..." She said apologetically. Kohaku blinked and tried to move his body to shake her hand or bow. To his disappointment, he seemed to be trapped in an invisible cage.

"I'm sorry for um..." His mouth tripped over the words. The girl, Ayumi, didn't seem bothered and smiled. "Oh, it's okay. I wasn't watching where I was going, either. I have a lot on my mind right now." She said kindly. Kohaku nodded and moved some of his bangs away from his face. "Oh, what happened to your head?" She asked suddenly, her voice filled with concern. Kohaku tried hard not to look too bitter at the question. She already sounded sorry for him. If he told her the full story, then all three of the girls would be crowding him with sympathy.

He hated being babied more than anything.

"I uhh...Tripped." He said quickly. To change the subject, he blurted out, "Why are you three so down?" The girls seemed a little startled by the question. They weren't as startled as Kohaku was, however. He was almost shocked at himself for the rude and sudden question. His family had taught him better than to blurt out personal questions like that...

It looked as if even more sad weight had been dumped on the girls' shoulders. Their eyes were sad and thoughtful and their faces were pale. "We..." The taller one whispered. "Heard something. Something scary..." Kohaku fiddled through his pockets. "Like what...If you don't mind me asking?" He quickly added.

Ayumi sighed and sniffed lightly. "One of our friends...She...Not too long ago, she got expelled." She said. Kohaku's eyes widened. "Wow..." He drawled quietly. "Yeah," Ayumi laughed. "For..." Her smile faded and her eyes grew distant. "I'll say it." The taller girl said. "Oh, Eri, you don't have to..." Ayumi cut in. Eri brushed her off.

"There was this guy that a lot of girls here liked...His name was Hojo." Something in Kohaku's memory clicked at the name. He had heard of the guy and seen him just a couple of times. Kohaku hadn't been with the school very long, but he knew he had seen the guy before, if only for a few seconds.

"Well, we three liked him a lot too. But he was always after our friend...The one that got expelled..." She hesitated for a moment. "...Kagome." The girls grew more remorseful at the sound of the name. Kohaku nodded slowly. His heart was pounding. If he was guessing correctly, then the girl they were talking about must have been...

"I was there when it happened. We all were...Hojo was calling Kagome over to eat with him and the rest of us, but she didn't want to." Eri said. "She _never_ wants to." The other girl added. Eri nodded in response. "But this time, she really didn't want to. I could see it in her eyes...She was really nervous about something." The other girls were nodding slowly and seemed focused on the memory.

"We were all calling her over anyway. But when she still wouldn't come, Hojo got up and went over to her. Right when he reached his hand out to--" She cleared her throat. "To bring her over..." The three paused in thought and Kohaku stood still, anxious to her more.

"There was such a sound. Like...Like one of those sound-effects on cartoons when someone gets punched really hard. Only it wasn't in a cartoon...It was real." Kohaku stared seriously at her. The thought was scary enough. He couldn't imagine it happening in real life. "Next thing I see," Eri continued. "Hojo's flying through the air." Kohaku's mouth opened. "Blood was just dropping from his face as he went. Like a trail. I couldn't really breathe, I think. But I was watching him. He was going so fast. And he slammed into the fence...I couldn't see his face under all the blood. And even if I could..." She swallowed. "I don't think...I would have known it was him."

Kohaku noticed that he had been holding his breath and started to breathe again. Ayumi stifled a sob and put a hand over her face. "We were all...In shock. Everyone who was there...We were all just kind of hypnotized by the image of him in that fence. We didn't know if he was dead or alive...But no one was paying attention to Kagome." Eri said.

"Bye the time we had gotten over the shock and all started screaming and crying, Kagome was gone. I don't know where she went after she did that to Hojo, but she was smart to run. If she hadn't, I truly believe that everyone there would have killed her." Kohaku let a heavy sigh out of his chest and rubbed a hand over his neck. That must have been the day that he was sick and didn't go to school. If only he had been at school...

"Even now I can't...I can't fathom where that strength came...Where that power came from. I didn't, not for a split second, think that Kagome would ever hurt someone like that. In such a horrible, monstrous way. Being so bony and weak all the time, too." Eri said stiffly. Ayumi sobbed and shook her head. "Me either...Me either..." She whispered. "We should have talked to her when we saw her, guys. We should have talked to her...Why did we just walk away?" She bawled. She dropped to her knees and cradled herself with her arms.

"When we saw her again, like Ayumi said, we didn't talk to her. Everyone at school out-casted her. We were all instructed not to have any contact with her at all. Then, the principle had her called in. After that, we heard she was expelled. The only reason she didn't go to jail was because Hojo's parents didn't press charges." She said bitterly. "She was our friend, but for something like that...We all knew she needed to be punished."

"That's enough, Eri." The other girl said as she comforted Ayumi. "You're making things worse talking like that." Eri nodded. "Sorry, Yuka..." She muttered. Yuka looked up at Kohaku with a calm face. "You might not have heard," She said in a hushed tone. "But there are FBI here at school today. They're asking questions about a brutal murder. A group of guys, gang members, were murdered." Kohaku gaped. "I heard something about that..." He said shakily.

Yuka stroked a hand over Ayumi's back. She looked back up at Kohaku. "Apparently they found a trail of blood leading all the way from the scene of the crime...To Kagome's front door." Kohaku tried to suck back his shock. Something so severe had happened and he didn't even know until then? What was more, only a few of the students probably knew.

"They don't know if Kagome did it for sure or not, but they have two guys who were in the gang, only they're alive. They say a girl was there, and when they were shown a picture of Kagome, they said it was definitely her. No one can ask her questions about it or anything though because..." She sighed. "...She ran away the day the cops came to her house."

Kohaku paced between the lockers. "So that's why she ran away..." He murmured to himself. He stopped pacing and spun around. "Were you three her only friends?" He asked uncertainly. They looked at each other in thought, and then back at Kohaku. "We were basically her only friends, yeah." Eri said. Then her eyes narrowed in thought. "But...I remember hearing that she started hanging out with those guys..." She said thoughtfully. Yuka looked at her and then the same thing seemed to dawn on her. "Yeah, a lot of people were telling me that." She said.

"Who?" Kohaku asked eagerly. Eri helped Ayumi to her feet and said, "I heard a lot of truthful reports about how she was invited to go behind the school." Kohaku's heart leapt to his throat, and then dropped to his stomach. "...The back?" He asked in a far-away voice. Yuka nodded violently. "You know, where those three horrible guys hang out. That's like their little paradise or something. But she was invited back there and people say she hung out with them back there a few times. In fact," She said, quieting her voice as if she were gossiping. "Two of them were brought in for questioning just before us."

Kohaku felt beads of cold sweat began to wet his face. His throat tightened and he stared. "She was...Hanging out with those guys?" He asked. Eri nodded. "Yeah, you know them? They're pretty scary..." She mumbled. Kohaku nodded slowly in agreement. "The biggest jerks in school." He said slowly. The three girls nodded in agreement. "Anyways," Yuka started. "That's all we know about it. I don't know what those bullies knew, but they were obviously more important to the FBI if they were called in first. You can ask them about it. Maybe they were with her...Before..." The three girls stared at the floor, regret etched into their features. Kohaku felt a tug of sympathy for them, but pushed it away.

"Thank you," Kohaku said, stepping forward. He put a hand out. The three girls stared at it. "You're...A freshman, right?" Eri asked. Kohaku felt his arm get heavier and he nodded. Eri smiled. "What's your name?" She asked. Kohaku blinked quickly. "Kohaku..." The girls smiled and took turns shaking his hand. "Thanks for listening, Kohaku." Ayumi said kindly. Kohaku's cheeks reddened and he nodded. No one had thanked him so nicely in a long time. "No problem." He said. The girls waved and turned around the corner that he had come from when he bumped into Ayumi.

After they had gone, everything he heard began speeding through his head. He let it soak in. There was nothing he knew about the girl or the situation, so he couldn't benefit anyone or do any good. It was a bad habit of his to try and be brave when he didn't need to be, he knew that. But something about it just seemed...Wrong. Even though he was young, he had been told he had a good judgment of character. He was right about people most of the time and it was easy for him to read into emotion.

What really didn't sit right with him was what they had said about that Hojo guy...How could a sixteen-year-old girl described by her friends as "weak and bony" possibly summon enough strength in her whole body to send a bigger and stronger sixteen-year-old boy into a fence with his face crushed in?

It wasn't right.

He had heard what he could from the nurse, and then from Kagome's friends. They told him about the only other people to speak with her close to the time she had run away. The only problem was, those people were his most despised enemies. There was no way he could talk to them. Not in a hundred years. They were cruel and stupid guys. He had only ever glimpsed their _leader_, but if the two underlings were that bad, he didn't want to get any more involved.

'_If I want to know more, then I have to._' He told himself. He ground his teeth and tightened his hair-band so much, it hurt. '_What am I expecting is going to happen by finding out more about Kagome? Do I think I can help, or I can find her somehow? Do I think I can find out who the real killer is if I couldn't even find out who killed my own family?_' He shouted to himself.

He shut his eyes and let himself seethe quietly. A few moments of deep breathing helped his head clear up. His eyes opened. '_Am I just doing this because I'm bored?_' He shook his head with narrowed eyes. '_I know I can help...I know I can figure this out._' He told himself. '_Maybe I'm..._' He let his arms drop to his sides. '_Maybe I'm looking for a way to make up for what I didn't do...Back then._' The vivid memory of a house bright and burning with flames entered his thoughts. He clenched his fists and walked in the direction of the exit.

'_I know I'm onto something. I might be a screw-up...And I'm weak...But I wanna do something good for once._' He said with a nod of determination. When he looked up, he was in front of the school doors. He pushed them open and walked out onto the steps. He breathed in the fresh air and let it fill him up with confidence. His eyes were bright and he felt a lot older than a fourteen-year-old. For once in his life, he felt like a somebody instead of a nobody. For once in his life, he felt true courage. For once in his life...

"Well, well, if it isn't our favorite little freshman..." An all-too-familiar dark voice said.

Every ounce of good feeling he had been dwelling on disappeared like a deflating balloon.

* * *

_**Insane-san says: **Oh goodness...Yes, to those of you who were told by me that this chapter would have lots of fluff...I lied. -Japanese villain girl laugh-_

_I hope you're not too upset that our two best friends Kagome and Inuyasha didn't show up in this chapter at all. So shocking, right? I actually shocked myself when I found out I wasn't going to put them in! My editor nearly murdered me at my desk, for goodness sake! ...Well, I don't have an editor. But I'm sure he/she would have done so if I did have one! T.T_

_Kohaku has always been one of my favorite characters in the anime, so I was very happy to finally bring him into my story. Sango always annoyed the heck out of me in the anime, though, because to me she was just so clingy and couldn't get it through her thick skull that either Kohaku wanted to be with Naraku, or he just didn't have a choice. Anyway, in the manga, Kohaku and Sesshoumaru are my two favorite characters at the moment. Why? Because they're interesting and are seriously getting intricate to the plot-line. What are Inuyasha and the gang doing? Everything they always do. That's why they're boring, and Seshoumaru and Kohaku aren't. XD But I still love them all. In my own way...I just like Kohaku and Seshoumaru more. Oh, and Rin, too. I love her, she's so cute... -beams- _

_We'll see what happens in the next chapter. I won't have you be too far from Kagome and Inuyasha for very long, I promise. After all, this story is about them. But it never hurt to get into side characters of a story, did it? It does most stories good...If...It's done right and is interesting. XD Hopefully I succeeded on both counts. Let me know, hm? I'm kind of nervous. XD_

_Well, I guess I'll see you insane kids later. Kids? Adults? Boys or girls? Maybe you're all WERE-WOLVES. D: Hmm...That's pretty hot... o.o  
_

_Whatever the case, thanks for reading. I enjoy your support and love reading what you have to say. Thanks so much for bein' here. XD_

_I see you next time, yes? n.n  
_

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	17. Page Seventeen

_**Insane-san says:**__ Well, for the sake of my loyal, dedicated, and amazing readers out there, I decided to just update with what I have on this chapter so far. This chapter WILL be added to in the future. But since I haven't updated in so long I decided to just get this out there. I'll do my best to write more. I can hear the echoes of groans of disappointment out there... XD But like I said in my bio, I'm concentrating more these days on offline original stories. Read my bio for a little more info. Other than that, like I said, I'll try to add much more to this at a later time. But with what's happening in my life right now and with the holidays, it may be a while until you see some more. But here's what I have so far. It needs a LOT of work. There's a lot of un-needed stuff in here that I need to cut out and change, as well as add to. So don't judge it as it is. Try to enjoy it...? x.x_

* * *

Sh**o**usetsu n**o** K**o**wai

_Page seventeen (so far)_

* * *

Coffee spilled onto a slip of paper and muddled the ink. Renkotsu groaned and picked up the piece of paper and began to shake the remnants of the coffee out of it, but to no avail.

"Sh--" He cut his words off when the door to his parked car opened. He looked up, startled. "What is it?" He asked irritably.

Suikotsu frowned with a sigh and leaned over the car door. "Ever since notices have been put on the news yesterday about this girl, we've been waiting to get a lot of calls..." Renkotsu's eyes narrowed. "Get to the point." He wasn't in the mood for conversation. He had just spilled coffee on a letter from home and caused the first two lines of it to become practically unreadable.

"Well," Suikotsu drawled. "We finally got some calls about her," he said hesitantly.

Renkotsu's eyebrows rose and his face calmed to some degree. "Good," he said. He paused. Something about Suikotsu's face told him there was something more. "And...?" he asked heavily.

Suikotsu closed his eyes and seemed to sink a little. Renkotsu sipped his coffee steadily, hoping he'd gain some strength from it. "Well, you know how it goes...Some people call when they think they've seen her, but they really haven't, and so on," he said evenly. "There are over two hundred messages from people, and we've been assigned to go through them all."

Renkotsu promptly spit the coffee from his mouth and all over his letter. His eyes bulged at what he had just done as he choked and coughed. "SUNUVA--"

Suikotsu shut the car door.

* * *

"Aww, someone has a little band-aid on their boo-boo," Hiten cooed cruelly.

Kohaku fingered the gauze on his head and tried to remain standing straight and tall. He felt his throat closing up.

"It's just a scratch," he mumbled.

Hiten smirked with hate in his eyes. "It just goes to show that someone like you could bump into a table and want a cast put on." Manten burst out laughing. "Well nerd," Hiten sighed and turned away from Kohaku. "We'd just_ love_ to stay and talk with you all day, but we're busy." With a flick of his fingers, Manten knew to follow. They headed towards the back of the school.

Kohaku's blood pulsed in his veins and his palms were sweaty. He swallowed the sick lump in his throat and took a step forward. The principal had probably already lectured them about leaving him alone, but knowing them, they didn't do what they were told most of the time, especially if they became annoyed, and Kohaku knew that what he was about to do would annoy them.

_If_ he could even muster up the courage to try.

He took a few more small steps forward; It was nothing compared to their long strides. Something had obviously happened to make them want to hurry. Kohaku narrowed his eyes and mentally slapped himself. He tried to think of where all those heroic feelings he had only moments ago had gone. He took in a sharp breath.

"Wait!" he yelled. Hiten and Manten stopped and they both slowly turn around. They were at least five yards apart, but Kohaku felt the chill of their stares as if they were directly in front of him. He put a few fingers underneath his gauze pad and ripped it from his head, tape and all. He let it drop to the ground. The brothers seemed surprised for a moment, but it quickly faded. "I need to ask you about someone," he said, trying to swallow the shaky-sounding voice that kept trying to come up.

A slow smirk spread across Hiten's face. Kohaku gulped and clenched his fists. He took a few brave steps forward as he spoke. "You...Know about the murder that happened around here recently?" he asked, careful to cover up the crack in his voice. When he met Hiten's eyes again, they were different. The smirk had fallen from his face and he stared.

"I know it," he said darkly.

Kohaku picked at a button on his black school uniform shirt and tried not to look directly at Hiten. "I hear people say that you..." He cleared his throat. He was stunned at his own bravery for actually speaking to his worst enemy. "That you knew the girl who got expelled."

Something in Hiten's eyes flickered and he knitted his eyebrows. "What about her?" he asked. Manten seemed angry at what Kohaku was saying. Kohaku knew it was only a matter of a few more sentences before they'd have had enough.

Kohaku took a deep breath. "When I was little...uh...someone set my house on fire. I don't really remember anything. That's just what everyone told me." Hiten raised an eyebrow and Manten snorted. Kohaku's heart was racing and he swallowed. "Everyone in my family died except me, but...but I've always questioned that. Even though I don't remember it, I can remember a girl; I think she was my sister, carrying me through the flames and down the stairs. I remember that we both got out of the house before it collapsed." Hiten and Manten looked at each other.

"I think the both of us had passed out, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital of an orphanage. I asked as many questions as I could, but no one would tell me about my family. It was like they wanted it to be kept secret," he said. "All the doctors and the police officers said that everyone in the house had burned to death. They didn't have any records of my family's names or anything about us at all. If they did, they didn't show me, so I have no idea who I am or anything about my family. The only thing I could remember was my first name and how old I was."

Hiten looked at Kohaku with an expression he wasn't familiar with. "So what does that have to do with the murder that happened recently?" Hiten asked. Kohaku clenched and unclenched his fists a few times.

"I...I just keep having this weird feeling," he murmured. Hiten and Manten exchanged looks. They stared back at Kohaku.

"I think maybe the girl who ran away could be my older sister."

* * *

"If you're going to keep yelling at me, then I _really_ won't go in!"

Rain hammered down hard. So hard, things were barely visible to the two pairs of eyes that were glaring at each other.

"Well, here's an idea, then," rose a mock-happy voice through the pounding. "I'll go in, and _you_ can stay out in the rain!"

A harsh gust billowed through the trees. It whipped around them and made their hair sting their faces. Finally, the girl's defiance began to collapse. The storm was getting to be just too much to handle. "But there could be bears and things in there!" she yelled with an obvious tone of fear in her voice, though she tried her best to mask it. "When I wanted to find a place to get out of the rain, I was thinking--"

"What, a nice little canopy of trees, perhaps? Maybe a servant who'd bring you a roasted pig with an apple in its mouth?" Inuyasha said with a smile and a look of endearment. He wiped off his sarcasm to glare at her. He spit rain water out of his mouth which didn't do much good as there was a seemingly endless supply of rain pouring from the sky. He watched Kagome begin to shake as the anger rose up inside of her.

"Okay," Kagome finally sighed over the roar of the rain. "I'll go in. But only if you go and check the inside first, okay?" Inuyasha's eyes scanned her face in thought for a moment before turning around and moving towards the cave.

Kagome blinked rain out of her eyes rapidly in surprise. He had gone in so easily without even so much as a sarcastic murmur. He'd simply turned around, walked towards the cave, and gone inside. "Odd..." Kagome mumbled to herself. She hugged her arms around her body in an attempt to trap some warmth in. The rain was hard and freezing. Going into the cave seemed like a great idea, and after watching a TV show about caves and stalagmites, she knew it'd be a warm place because she'd be out of the rain and wind. However, she wouldn't have said so out loud. She made up the excuse that she was afraid wild animals would be inside, or there'd be some kind of rotting carcass, or deadly mushroom spores.

What really scared her was being alone in a dark cave with Inuyasha. To top it off, she'd have to tell him bits and pieces of her life story.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome jumped from her thoughts with a gasp and looked up. Inuyasha was waving her over. Kagome lifted a foot to begin walking, but hesitated. Inuyasha grew tired of waiting in the rain for her and turned around to enter the cave. When Kagome saw that she was being left in the rain, she picked herself up and ran after him. "Wait for me!" she yelled as she ran. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks at her command. Kagome mentally scolded herself for forgetting he did whatever she told him to. She felt a little guilty for making him wait for her in the pouring rain.

"Thanks," she said once she caught up. Inuyasha snorted and continued towards the cave. Kagome followed. She braced herself as she entered the dark cave. In the split second that she walked past the entrance, she felt warmer. The rain had stopped its cold and harsh massage, and the air she breathed was much drier. She smiled at the feeling and walked further into the cave. She picked a cozy-looking spot to sit down in and was about to take a seat, but Inuyasha kept walking further inside.

"Inuyasha...?" she called quietly, staring after him in confusion. He kept on walking further.

* * *

**_Insane-san says:_** _Yeah, I know, what a load of garbage... x.x And you're probably really ticked off that it's so short. But hey, at least it's something. Thanks for sticking it out with me. Some reviews might help numb my mental pain right now. So feel free to send me some of those. It always helps to boost my update ambition. To everyone who's been waiting patiently for any updates to this story, thanks for being there. XD See you soon. _

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